


GUARDIAN

by youngjaeswife



Category: 2jae - Fandom, GOT7, K-pop, Markjin - Fandom
Genre: Boyfriends, Established Park Jinyoung | Jr./Mark Tuan, Friends to Lovers, GOT7 - Freeform, K-pop boyfriends, Kpop fandom, M/M, kpop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2019-10-25 04:56:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 68
Words: 109,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17718476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youngjaeswife/pseuds/youngjaeswife
Summary: When a young Guardian, Choi Youngjae, gets fed up of his latest job of watching over a boring human being, Im Jaebeom, he breaks one of the main codes of his Guardian agency and soon finds out the hard way, that being a guardian incognito was so much easier than what he's now become.





	1. Chapter 1

Jaebeom threw twenty-five thousand won onto the table and sighed as the chips were handed too him. He didn’t often come to the casino, he felt it a waste of money but his best friend Mark had brought him along and here they were, betting on one damn number in the hope to at least double their money.

Mark picked a number and turning to Jaebeom watched as Jaebeom faffed about trying to choose another number. It was obvious the last one wasn’t working for him. Mark had already tripled his money and had every reason to be smiling away like he was

Try number six a voice said from behind him, but when he turned around, whoever it was had gone.

Throwing caution to the wind Jaebeom chose the number six and then pushed his chips forward.

“No more bets,” the croupier said firmly as they spun the wheel.

Jaebeom waited with baited breath as the wheel spun around. He couldn't bear to look as the ball began to settle. It wasn’t until Mark nudged his arm that he looked.

“Number six is the winning number, congratulations sir.”

Jaebeom couldn’t believe his luck as the croupier pushed his winnings towards him. He quickly glanced around the room looking for whoever it was that gave him the number, he could at least offer the person a drink, or a meal in thanks.

“What's wrong? Mark asked him curiously watching Jaebeom scanning the crowds.

“It's nothing,” Jaebeom replied, shaking his head as he turned his attention back to Mark 

“We should probably head off and cash this lot in while your ahead,” Mark said patting him heartily on the back.

“Yeah,” Jaebeom said doing another quick look around before grabbing his chips and standing. “With my luck, we probably should.”

As they headed to the cash in station Jaebeom looked around again still wondering who it was that gave him the winning number, amongst the sea of heads in the casino.

“Seriously, Jaebeom. Pay attention,” Mark said tapping him on the shoulder as it got to Jaebeom's turn to cash in his chips.

Jaebeom pushed them into the small indent under the window and sighed grabbing his wallet out of his pocket with his free hand as he did so.

“Look up”.

Jaebeom swung around, whoever it was was gone again and shaking his head he looked back down at the chips being taken by the cashier in the window and his winnings being handed back and he shoved them into his wallet and put it away.”

“Seriously, you might want to look up, like, now!”

Jaebeom quickly looked up “Everybody move now,” he yelled pointing upwards, then began pushing away those who didn't take notice, before grabbing Mark and shoving him away too, just as the light fitting above them smashed onto the ground below. A small piece of glass caught his arm as it fell, but other than that, everyone else was safe thanks to whoever had warned him. 

Suddenly there was a commotion and security came running over to the crowd and started asking questions.

“Shit, your arm Jaeboem, it's bleeding,” Mark pointed out.

Jaebeom shrugged, “I'm fine, it's only a flesh wound, It would have been much worse for everyone in the immediate vicinity if whoever it was hadn't of warned me.”

“Who warned you?” Mark asked puzzled.

“I don't know, you would have seen them, they came up beside me and told me to look up,” Jaebeom told him.

“Jaebeom, I was right behind you buddy, but no one came anywhere near us,” Mark replied giving his friend an odd stare. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah positive, I was looking at you the whole time, no one came up to you at all” Mark reiterated.

“What about back at the table, when I put the bet on number six, did you hear anyone then?” Jaebeom asked him.

“No, why?” Mark replied, puzzled.

“You didn't hear anyone tell me to try number six?” 

“Not that I can recall,” Mark replied thinking back.

Jaebeom scrunched up his face wondering if maybe he'd had one too many shots of soju, even though he'd only had two and four was his limit. He shook his head and sighed looking around some more.

“Jaebeom, I swear, I’m not pranking you, there honestly wasn’t anyone there.”

“I only had two shots of soju tonight right?” He asked Mark, just in case he’d been off with his count. 

“Yeah, you stopped right after the second shot,“ Mark confirmed

“Excuse me sir are you the gentleman we need to thank for keeping our patrons safe?” A tall thin man asked as he walked up to Jaebeom followed by security.

“I guess,” Jaebeom responded.  


I'm the Casino Manager, we just got notified of the commotion

“Any idea what happened?” The security guy asked.

“Not sure to be honest, someo... I mean, something prompted me to look upwards and the next thing you know, that thing falls down. I just got the crowd out of the way that’s all,” Jaebeom humbly replied.

“You’re hurt,” the manager noted, “call for first aid,” he said tapping the security guy on the arm.

“Yes, sir,” the security guy replied as he swiftly did as instructed.

I’m fine, really,” Jaebeom began to protest.

“Please both of you, follow me into the office.” He gave the security guard another tap on the arm. “Change of plans. Get first aid to come to my office instead.”

“Yes, sir,” the guard replied, once again following the manager's instructions.

Jaebeom and Mark followed the Casino manager into his office, right as the first aid arrived.

“Please sit both of you,” he said addressing Mark and Jaebeom.

No sooner than Jaebeom's backside hit the seat, the first aid tended to him, and a few minutes later, with his wound cleaned and dressed, the first aid went on their way.

“I'm so sorry this happened to you,” the manager began apologetically, “we've just had the lighting upgraded, so I don't even know where to began to give you a reason as to why this should have happened.”

“No one got hurt, so it's fine. These things happen,” Jaebeom shrugged.

“You got hurt,” the manager said pointing to the dressing, “however, if it wasn't for you though, a lot more people might have gotten hurt, maybe even killed. I've got security onto it and I've already called the police to look into it. In the meantime, the least I can do is give you compensation for your arm. Please bring any other medical costs incurred for this to me and also,” the manager reached into his desk drawer, took out something and signed it. “Here you go, the two of you have a twelve month VIP membership each. It includes passes into the member's lounge, gym, VIP night club, free drinks, hotel stays, meals all included,” he said handing one each to Mark and Jaebeom.”

Mark and Jaebeom exchanged glances before Mark took the passes.

“That's very generous of you thank you,” Mark said first, not even giving Jaebeom a chance to pass up on the offer.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Jaebeom replied as Mark nudged him in the ribs, before handing him his pass.

If you need anything while your here, please let me know. Those passes start from today too.” The manager smiled.

“We will. Thank you, sir,” Mark said with a smile as they all got out of their chairs, the manager shaking their hands before they departed ways.

Mark gave Jaebeom a slap upside the head, “What is wrong with you? You could have been a little more excited about this, he just gave us VIP treatment.”

Jaebeom rubbed his head, continuously looking around. “I was a little preoccupied trying to get all this around my head.”

“What's there to get around? We have free passes and stuff lots of free use of stuff,” Mark said as they headed out of the Casino.

“Someone told me to place my bet on number six, Mark, and I'm sure the same person warned me about that light.”

“I already told you there was no one there. I was behind you the whole time,” Mark reminded him

“The footage,” Jaebeom said suddenly stopping in his tracks.

“What footage?” Mark asked almost walking into him. “Jaebeom what are you going on about?” 

“The casino will have CCTV footage. I'm going to go back and ask the manager to get security to let us view it.”

Mark sighed heading after Jaebeom as he headed back into the casino.

~*~

In an office, somewhere between here and there, a young man holding a file, sat down in his chair smiling to himself, quite satisfied that his first day of work on his newest case, was a complete success.

He tossed the file onto the desk, put his feet up, pulled his hat down over his eyes and decided to take a rest. 

As quickly as he'd put his feet up, they were pushed down onto the floor and his hat was pulled off his head. “Youngjae what do you think you're doing?”

“Resting what does it look like

“Just because you've saved his ass, doesn't mean you get to slack off. You've been assigned to that section permanently.”

“Come on Bambam, gimme a break. This guy is so boring and stuffy. I hate having to follow him, can't you give him to Yugeom?”

“No. You were the one who said you wanted this job because it looked easier than the others.”

Youngjae screwed up his face disapprovingly.

“YOUNGAJEEE,” A voice yelled rather unimpressed as footsteps came thundering around the corner.

Youngjae jumped up and quickly hid under his desk.

“What did you do?” Bambam sighed as Jackson stormed up to him and looked around.

“Where the heck is he?” Jackson demanded.

Bambam simply pointed down.

Jackson sighed as he got on the ground and Joined Youngjae under his desk.“Please tell me you didn't do it?” 

“I didn't stop the roulette wheel on six,” Youngjae said in reply a guilty look on his face

“You did, didn't you?” Jackson sighed

“You just asked me to tell you I didn't do it,” Youngjae responded. 

“You are in so much trouble. What the hell were you thinking?” Jackson asked as he dragged Youngjae by the collar out from under his desk. 

“I don't think he was, at least not in any sane manner,” Bambam added as he followed them around into a corridor.

“Come on, you guys, the poor the guy looked like he could use a break, can't blame me for trying to cheer him up,” Youngjae reasoned.

“Yes, we can!” Jackson countered. “You know the rules, Youngjae, no other physical interference except that of your Guardianship duties and absolutely no verbal interactions at all, ever, no, not done and you did. It's one of the top Guardian codes!”

“What harm can one nudge of a small ball do?” Youngjae sighed as they came up to a large door at the end of the corridor.

Jackson knocked on the door vigorously.

“It's not just that, Youngjae, you spoke to him twice. You're supposed to use non-verbal and non-physical methods to get his attention and you know that.”

“Yeah, yeah sorry.” Youngjae sighed the lack of remorse evident in his tone.

“You so sound it. Not,” Jackson sarcastically replied as he smacked Youngjae upside the head. “The boss is pretty mad, heck knows what he's gonna do to you.”

“I'll get slapped on the hand and told not to do it again. And anyway it's my first time. I've never broken any of the rules before.”

Bambam laughed, “Listen to him would you?” He said to Jackson as he shook his head. 

“You've never broken a major rule before. However,” Jackson added, giving Youngjae an intense glare, “I've lost count of all the other times you've broken minor rules.”

Youngjae suddenly stiffened as the door opened, then tried to leave post haste but Jackson still had him firmly by the collar.

“Oh no you don't. You're facing up to this one buddy,” Jackson dragged him into the room, pulling him over to the large desk in front of them.

Once in the room, Youngjae fell completely silent as the boss turned around in his chair and sighed. “So, Choi Youngjae, what have you got to say for yourself?” 

“Um, sorry?” Youngjae gave a cute smile and bat his eyelids.

“You do know you broke the biggest rule in the Guardian's code, don't you?” The boss said sighing out through his nose.

“Would you believe me if said no?” Youngjae said hopefully.

“I didn't believe you when you said sorry, so why would I believe you if you said no?” The boss replied raising an eyebrow.

“But the guy needed a break, he's not the lucky type. Can't you just overlook it this once? Pleeeasse?” 

“You know what?” the boss began as he gave Youngjae the sweetest of smiles.

Youngjae looked certain he was about to be forgiven and he readied himself for the reprieve.

“Since you seem to like involving yourself in the physical world so much, patting puppies, talking to the people, eternally causing mischief, I have just the thing. Jackson?”

“Yes, sir?”

The boss handed him a newspaper and smiled. “Make the necessary preparations. It's time our Youngjae learnt a valuable lesson.”

“Wait, what kind of lesson?” Youngjae suddenly found his certainty, uncertain.

Both Jackson and Bambam exchanged glances.

“Sir you don't mean...?” They said in unison.

“Oh, I do,” the boss said with a grin, “I definitely do.”


	2. Chapter 2

Jaebeom arrived home, annoyed, perplexed and no wiser as to what the hell was going on. The cameras, had indeed, as Mark had said, shown no one else in close proximity to him at any time during the roulette wheel or the light fitting incident.

He threw his keys on the bench and then headed to his fridge grabbing out some water. He then went into the freezer grabbing out a microwave meal, sticking it into the microwave. He sat down on a stool near the bench and checked his phone messages. 

Mark had messaged saying Jinyoung gave his thanks for saving his ass. Jaebeom laughed lightly through his nose and messaged back telling Mark, to tell Jinyoung he'd send him an invoice later.

He put his phone to the side and drank some of his water and his phone messages went off again, but it wasn't Mark

“Finally,” he said as he frantically typed back. For the next few minutes, the messages went back and forth until Jaebeom gave a satisfied smile as he walked out of the kitchen and into the corridor heading towards the other bedroom in the house. 

Taking some photos he sent them off in another message and waited for a reply. Seconds later he got one and frowned as he messaged back and again it was a few more minutes before getting another one back before he sent the final message and then shook his head.

With that sent, the microwave pinged and Jaebeom headed back into the kitchen.

 

~*~ 

In the middle of a dark and quiet street, a large portal opened and one enthusiastic Jackson Wang appeared stepping out from it, dragging out a not so enthusiastic Choi Youngjae and then the portal disappeared.

“You can just take your punishment like a man and deal with it!” Jackson scolded him as he continued to drag him down the road. “If you hadn't broken the rules, you wouldn't be in the predicament you are now.”

“Okay, okay, but the boss didn't have to get so mean. I learnt my lesson. I mean all I did was give that guy a bit of a boost. I mean he's boring and has no luck. He's grumpy and frustrating, that's why I helped him out at the wheel today. I'm bored being his guardian he's no fun.”

“You're not supposed to have fun you're supposed to be watching over him, but no, that wasn't enough for you. You just had to go and make mischief by breaking the one rule you shouldn't. It's obvious the boss has tolerated a lot from you, the patting of puppies was one thing, but you took it too far, especially making that light fall, that wasn't...”

“Wait a minute,” Youngjae said with a puzzled look, “I never made the light fall, that was nothing to do with me. I only noticed it because a screw fell right past me when I was standing beside him. That's when I first looked up and then I warned him about it.”

Jackson looked at him suspiciously.

“I swear, it really wasn't me. I might push boundaries, but not at the risk of someone's life.” Youngjae said looking a little offended. “I'm a Guardian, I protect people, not endanger them!”

“Are you sure?” Jackson pressed.

“Yes, I'm sure I'm a Guardian,” Youngjae said raising an eyebrow and looking at him

“Don't be a smart ass, you know what I mean.” Jackson gave him a harsh glare.

“Of course I'm sure, what do you take me for?That's something I would never, ever do!” Youngjae stood his ground.

“I suppose your right,” Jackson agreed.

“You suppose I'm right?” Youngjae sighed disappointedly in his colleague's lack of trust. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Okay, okay, I know you wouldn't do that, but even the boss thought you had. I'll let him know you didn't though, and he'll probably send someone to check things out. The light wouldn't have just fallen for no reason. Hmm, this is sounding a little too suspicious for my liking.”

“Yes, it is and yes, please do tell him.” Youngjae sighed out his frustration through his nostrils. “So where are we going anyway? And why do we have to be visible? I thought that was a no-no too, yet here we are, visible for all the world to see.”

“There's a reason for that, which you'll find out soon enough, however, you're still a Guardian and you're still required to be invisible while you do your job.”

“Okay, but, why are we here? And why are we heading towards this house?” Youngjae questioned. 

“I'm here to escort you to your new place of residence, the boss has decided you should spend some time here as part of your punishment,” Jackson said as he dragged Youngjae up the steps of a house and then knocked on the door.

“Part of? If this is only 'part' of, then what's the rest of it?” Youngjae asked just as the door of the house opened.

“I guess you're the guys that needed the room?”

“We sure are,” Jackson said with a wicked smile on his face as he saw Youngjae's reaction to the reality of his situation. 

Youngjae's eyes widened and his mouth went dry as he looked straight into the eyes of a very familiar face. “You've got to be kidding me,” he almost squawked.

Jackson grabbed Youngjae's collar as he turned to run back down the steps. “Actually it's just Youngjae here that will be staying,” Jackson said whirling Youngjae around still hanging onto his collar, “I'm just here to drop him off. 

Jaebeom gave him an odd look as he stared from Youngjae's totally freaked out face to Jackson's happy smiling one. “Are you sure he wants to stay? He doesn't seem to be very happy about this.” 

“You know how it is? A change of lifestyle is a bit unnerving, anyway, I'll bring his things in the morning, and this is the six months payment in advance as promised.”

“Six months!?” Youngjae noted Jackson was enjoying this all too much and he gave the other man a scowl.

“Anyway, I need to head off. Have to get back. Here take this.” Jackson said wiggling Youngjae's collar at him.

Jaebeom gave him another odd look and tentatively took Youngjae's collar in his hand.

Youngjae gave Jackson a pleading look and mouthed, 'Please don't make me do this.”

“Have fun in your new place Youngjae, and don't cause any trouble.” Jackson chuckled and he waved as he walked back down the stairs. “Find some puppies to pat or something.” 

“I'll find you some puppies to pat,” Youngjae said with a snort before turning to Jaebeom and sighing, “Would you mind,” he asked politely, referring to his collar.

“Oh yeah, sorry,” Jaebeom replied letting Youngjae go. “Your friend is a bit strange. Does he always pull you around by the collar?”

“Only when he's being a jerk,” Youngjae said as they watched Jackson walk further out of sight.

“We should probably head in, it is cold out here.” Jaebeom nodded for the other young man to go in first then following him in, shutting the door behind them.

“Your room is this way,” Jaebeom said leading Youngjae to his room. “I hope it's okay.”

“It's fine," Youngjae began, "but even if it wasn't, I don't have much if a choice.” 

“What happened for you to have to come here this time of night anyway?" Jaebeom asked. "Your friend said you were in urgent need of a room.

Youngjae rolled his eyes. “I guess you could say that I had a fight with my, erm, father and he kicked me out as punishment.” 

“Wow, that's harsh,” Jaebeom said as he handed Youngjae a key. “Anyway this is the spare key and I'll just run through the house rules.”

“You have house rules?” 

“Most people do,” Jaebeom informed him, “Anyway, no parties, unless it's prearranged. No girls over, no loud music or noises, no smoking. Drinking is fine as long as you buy your own. I use the shower at seven am before I head out to work, so you'll have to use it either before or after I'm done in there. As for housework, we can sit down tomorrow after I get back from work and sort that out.”

Youngjae found himself sighing again. Not only was this guy boring, but, he was also a bit of a killjoy.

“Any questions?” Jaebeom asked.

“Nope, none. I got all that loud and clear.” Youngjae replied forcing a smile.

“Good. Well, I'm heading to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sure, night,” Youngjae replied as he watched Jaebeom leave his room.

Sitting down on the bed he sighed some more, then looked up at the ceiling, before flopping unceremoniously down onto his bed.

This had to be the worst day of his life.

Ever.


	3. Chapter 3

Within seconds of realising this was the worst day of his life, Youngjae also realised, that he had no idea where the bathroom was in this place, nor did he have any night clothes.

Getting up from the bed he ran out after Jaebeom catching him right as he was about to shut his bedroom door.

“Wait, wait a second,” Youngjae called out just in time. 

“What's wrong? Something not to your liking?”

“No, no it's fine. The room is nice, the bed is soft and squishy, the carpet is fluffy. I'm perfectly happy with the room,” Youngjae informed him, “But can I have a tour of the house, before we go to bed?”

“In other words, you need to go to the bathroom?” Jaebeom said his face still as serious as ever

“Yes.” 

“Follow me,” Jaebeom said as he walked back out of his room and down the corridor further pointing to a door on his left. “There you go, and,” he said pointing the door at the very end of the corridor, “kitchen is through there if you need something to drink.”

“Also pyjamas,” Youngjae suddenly spat a little embarrassed.

“Pyjamas?”

“Yes, pyjamas. I have none. I kind of got left here without anything until Jackson comes back tomorrow.'”

“Oh, so he did have a name and not just the jerk friend?” Jaebeom said as Youngjae frowned.

“He still is the jerk friend,” Youngjae snorted. “He could have at least let me bring my things with me before dragging me here.”

“Just sleep naked.”

“Naked?” Youngjae freaked out a little. Not one day in his life, had he ever slept naked.

“What's wrong with sleeping naked?” Jaebeom asked chortling at Youngjae's response. “I do.”

Youngjae blushed and looked away, “What you do in your bed is your businesses. I like Pyjamas.”

“I 'sleep' in my bed, what else would I do?” Jaebeom was starting to feel quite amused. 

“I never said a word,” Youngjae said nervously. 

“No, you didn't, but your face says it all. Don't worry I don't walk around the house naked and; even if I did do anything else in my bed, you wouldn't even know,” Jaebeom said with a grin as he started to head back to his bedroom.

“Wait what are you doing?” Youngjae panicked seeing him walk off. 

“You wanted Pyjamas right?” Jaebeom reminded him. “I'll lend you some clothes until the morning. Stop panicking.” 

“Ah, right, yes. Thanks so much,” Youngjae said as he followed Jaebeom back to his room, waiting outside.

A few seconds later Jaebeom came back and handed Youngjae a pair of shorts and a top. “Just leave them folded over the lounge in the morning. I'll make you breakfast and leave it in the fridge if you're still asleep before I leave for work. I'll take you through the rest of the house tomorrow after I get back from work and we can work out shared stuff like electricity, gas, food etcetera too.” 

“Yeah, okay sure,” Youngjae replied as he clung to the clothes that Jaebeom had just given him.

“Okay and now I'm going to bed. See you in the morning,” Jaebeom waved and went back to his room leaving Youngjae in the corridor.

Youngjae sighed and watched as Jaebeom's bedroom door closed wandering to the bathroom and shaking his head. “he could have at least kept his 'I sleep naked information to himself',” Youngjae said shuddering. “Those are images, I really don't need to see.”

And with that Youngjae shut the bathroom door behind him.

~*~

Next morning early Jackson's portal appeared in Youngjae's room and leaving the bag with a note attached behind, he chuckled as he went back through it without even waking Youngjae up.

Seconds late the sound of water hammer in the piping could be heard as Jaebeom's shower came on waking Youngjae up abruptly. Groaning and sitting upright, Youngjae rubbed his eyes, then yawned, stretching as he did so. As he opened his eyes fully he blinked and looked around the room. His things were here bit no damn Jackson to explain further, just the note attached to the case. “Jackson you're a damn ass hole.” Getting up he grabbed the note from the handle of the case and began to read it.

'Morning sunshine, hope you had a great sleep?

So here are your things, everything you need is in there, clothes and your laptop all your work notes his file and the boss sent you some extra starter money as well. Don't know why after all the trouble you've caused lately. If it were my decision I'd make you work twice as hard before even giving you a hug.'

“You're a Jerk, Jackson,” Youngjae said with a frown as he continued to read the note.

'You've also been given six months of your pay in advance, and as you saw, your rent here was paid in advance. Do your job properly while living with him and then, in six months you'll be able to come home. If you continue to 'not' do things the right way, then it will take another six months.

This will go on just as long as you continue to pat the puppies, talk to your cases while invisible and generally create mischief.

Sorry, I couldn't stay. We're going to that restaurant you love for a breakfast buffet.  
More soon. 

Ciao for now. 

Your buddy, Jackson.

P.S, PTO.'

Youngjae sighed as he turned the note over wondering what other torments the ass hole wanted to bestow upon him now.

'Boss knows it wasn't you, re the lighting. Investigating it and will get back to you as soon as we know something. By the way, if you read his file properly, because I know you, and I know you haven't, you'd realise that this guy isn't boring at all. He leaves for work at eight thirty am. Be ready to go out after him straight away. There's a phone in the case that will get you through to the Guardian's office immediately. It also doubles as a normal phone, but you need to press 0 first.

Stay invisible at least when your working. You know what happens if you break that rule.

SO DON'T DO IT!

Later'

 

Youngjae sighed, “Like I said, you idiot,” he began speaking to the thin air, “I may push the boundaries, but I'm not one to push my luck that far.”

Opening his case he got his laptop out, setting it up on the desk, then rearranged all his other things accordingly. He spotted Jaebeom's file sticking out of the case and grabbed it.

“Suppose I should read it. Need to know exactly who I'm looking after I guess,” he said quietly to himself as he opened and started reading it. 

“What the... No way? What the hell is he doing here in a place like this then?” Youngjae shook his head as he looked around the small pokey room with the fluffy carpet and the soft squishy bed.

The more he read the more he was bemused by the whole situation. Grabbing out the phone he opened it and went to speak. 

“Yeah loser what do you want?” A familiar voice came through before he could speak.

“Not missing you either. So is Jackass around? I need to swear at him, a lot?”

He's already out on his case, he had some puppies to pat, what is it you need?”

“Funny, Bambam. This Jaebeom guy? What the hell is he doing in these parts of town?”

“Long story and you've only got forty minutes to shower, eat and get dressed before your case leaves for work and forty-two minutes until you follow him out. So when you've finished for the day and he's back safe and sound you can call again.”

“Ugh you guys are so annoying,” Youngjae said through gritted teeth.

“Ditto, oh ye who pats...”

“Shut the hell up with the puppies already, would you. I get it, okay. I screwed up before.” Suddenly Youngjae's face contorted into a wide smile as a thought came to mind. “Although... I can be visible now unless I'm working, so I 'can' pat puppies now, and without getting in trouble, so screw you!”

“Yeah yeah. Anything else?”

“Nope, that was it. I'll call Jackass later.” Youngjae hung up the phone.

Hearing the shower had stopped Youngjae got up and wandered out into the corridor to see Jaebeom walking around with a towel around his waist and he sighed. He realised he didn't have a towel yet either and there wasn't one in his case, or a toothbrush or any other of his nightly ablution gear.

He followed Jaebeom into the kitchen and sighed. Jaebeom whirled around, a knife in his hand thrust out in front of him and Youngjae jumped back.

“Shit don't ever do that, announce yourself at least. I might have accidentally hurt you, I was about cut some cheese.”

“Good morning to you too,” Youngjae said sitting in the chair furthest away from the other man. 

“Sorry, Youngjae. Morning.”

“So, are you always this jittery first thing in the morning?” Youngjae asked fishing for some answers.

“Not usually, but last night was kind of weird. I think I'm still on edge about it all.,” Jaebeom replied.

“I see,” Youngjae said with a bit of a smirk on his face, “So what happened?”

“Oh, it was nothing really,” Jaebeom replied not really wanting to divulge what happened.

“Oh, okay. Well if you ever need to talk about it, you have a set of ears hear willing to listen.” Youngjae gave a quiet chuckle. Of course, he already knew what had happened. He was there.

“If you need a shower there's a spare towel In the bathroom cupboard,” Jaebeom told him. “and while I'm thinking about it, any idea what time your friend will be back?”

“Oh, he stopped around while you were in the shower. But he left a few bits and pieces behind. Any chance we can head to the store after you get home today, so I can grab a few things?”

“Sure, we can do that,” Jaebeom said with a smile.

“Thanks, I really appreciate it,” Youngjae found himself smiling back. “I'll go for a shower and meet you back out here for breakfast. I have to head out for work just after you do today.” 

“Okay sounds like a plan. Breakfast should be ready in about fifteen, maybe twenty minutes or so.” Jaebeom informed him

“Right, see you soon then.” Youngjae left the kitchen and went to have his shower, leaving Jaebeom to get the breakfast on.


	4. Chapter 4

Youngjae felt a little better after he'd showered and eaten. At least Jaebeom could cook. He'd once had been coerced to try Bambam's food and regretted it for days. It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that great either. Once Jaebeom had left the house, Youngjae shoved the phone Jackson had left into his pocket, pressed a button on his watch and disappeared

Waiting for a minute or so, Youngjae looked out of the lounge room window, headed for the door and left too, locking the door behind him. He could see Jaebeom waiting for the bus and caught up with him there, making sure there was no one around them, following them. 

The bus arrived and Youngjae followed Jaebeom onto it. He went to walk through the pole in the middle as he went into the bus but smacked straight into it. *What the hell?* He thought as he tried again. Nothing. He shook his head and watched as Jaebeom sat in a seat further up the bus.

In the end, just in case, Youngjae positioned himself in behind the seat of the bus driver, to keep out of the other humans' reach, but still keeping a close eye on Jaebeom. He made a mental note to make sure to ask Jackson about this as soon as he got the chance. Luckily not many other people got on this bus, this time of day he noted. That was to be expected really, after all, Jaebeom was living in the poorest part of town.

Thinking back to Jaebeom's file, Youngjae still couldn't believe that this guy was out here by, himself, in a house like that, with a job like he had. It was rather shocking actually, but he could understand why he wanted to keep a low profile. Everyone has reasons for hiding who they are sometimes. 

About twenty minutes later, the bus stopped and Youngjae followed Jaebeom out. They headed down the footpath and into a department store down into the basement area and he watched as Jaebeom put his things away in his locker grabbed a name tag from a nearby desk stuck it on and headed out. 

Youngjae spent half the day following Jaebeom around the first and second floors of the store. Watching as he cleaned up accidental messes, built up displays, put away items that had been discarded and left in the wrong places and serve customers.

It was just before lunchtime that Youngjae noticed an elderly lady come up wanting to pay for an item which she pulled some notes out of her wallet and handed them to Jaebeom. He smiled and took the money but then looked back up and said, “I'm sorry Mrs Jung, you're five thousand won short. 

“Oh am I? Never mind then. I'll find something a bit cheaper.” Mrs Jung sighed a little forlornly and Jaebeom could tell she was a bit disappointed.

“Was this for your husband?” Jaebeom asked her

“Yes, today is his birthday,” Mrs Jung replied in her jovial elderly voice.

“What were you looking for in particular, maybe I can help you?” Jaebeom offered to smile at her.

“He really likes this style of Jacket, but I can't spend any more than that because we have food to buy and the bills to pay. This is what I have spare.” She informed Jaebeom pointing the money he had in his hand.

“Hmm let me see what I can do,” Jaebeom smiled as he walked around the Jackets with her.” 

Youngjae watched as Jaebeom interacted with the old lady, making sure that he kept an eye on both of them. Suddenly, while Mrs Jung was distracted by a different jacket, Jaebeom had just handed her, Youngjae noticed Jaebeom pull ten thousand won out of his pocket, crumple it a little then, dropped it on the floor. This guy was definitely weird, as well as boring.

A few seconds later Mrs Jung handed the other jacket back and sighed. “I might have to just get him a sweater instead. She said as they turned around to head towards the next section. 

“Oh, what's that?” Jaebeom suddenly asked her pointing down by her feet

Mrs Jung peered through her glasses as she spotted the money on the floor. “Oh my goodness, where did that come from?”

“I don't know, no one's come in since yesterday, before closing time,” Jaebeom bent down to pick it up for her and handed it to her. 

“Oh ten thousand won is a lot of money for someone to lose,” she said a little worried as she tried to hand it back. 

“If they had been particularly worried about their money, I think they would have come back for it or rang in about it before now. Probably just means it's someone with a lot of money to throw around and they don't really care.” 

Youngjae was puzzled but touched at the same time.

Leading her back to the counter where they had left the other jacket, Jaebeom gave her a gentle touch on the arm. “You keep it, get your husband this Jacket for his birthday! It's not often this type of luck comes around in this place,” he said smiling at the old lady sweetly.

“Thank you very much, my husband will be thrilled,” she said handing Jaebeom the other ten thousand won.

“I really hope he loves it, he's lucky to have a wife like you.” Jaebeom rung the money through the till, bagged the jacket and then handed her the change. He waited patiently as she fumbled to put it in her purse and put it away then handed Mrs Jung her purchase.

“See you next time Jaebeomshi,” Mrs Jung said with a wave as she headed off out of the store.

Jaebeom smiled as she left and then carried on doing what he'd been doing all morning. 

Lunchtime finally arrived and Jaebeom sighed as he headed down to the staff area and sat down at the table. Youngjae looked at him and then chuckled as Jaebeom's stomach gurgled. 

Getting up again Jaebeom grabbed his water from his bag drinking half of it down then sat back down again.

Youngjae stopped thinking it was funny as Jaebeom laid his head on the lunch table and allowed to let his stomach continue to make noises.

It took him a few minutes to realise that Jaebeom must have only brought a certain amount of money with him for lunch and he'd just given it away. 

Shaking his head Youngjae took off out of the staff room and headed upstairs into the toilets, luckily it was empty but just to be on the safe side he went into a cubicle shut the door and pushed the button on his watch. 

Once he was visible he left the store and walked over to the convenience store, grabbed a pile of food and waters before heading back to the department store. After jaebeom's generosity, Youngjae wasn't going to let him go hungry.

“Excuse me,” he began politely, walking up to another staff member, “Is it possible that you could drop this off to Im Jaebeom please?” he asked holding out the large bag of consumables.

“Are you a friend of his?” The young lady said taking it from him, “Jaebeom 'never' gets visitors come by at all. he'll be thrilled. I'll get him, so you can give it to him yourself.”

“Oh, no, no it's fine, really,” Youngjae stammered, he couldn't allow Jaebeom to know that he knew, where he worked at this stage. “I have somewhere else to be, sorry, but would you mind giving it to him?”

“No problem,” The young lady said as Youngjae smiled up at her, “I'll go give it to him right now.”

“Great thanks, see you.” Youngjae left quickly heading into the store next to Jaebeom's finding the toilets and making himself scarce again.

Once he was invisible again he quickly headed back into Jaebeom's department store and made it back to the staff room just in time to see Jaebeom's puzzled face as the staff member gave him the bag of food and drink.

“Wait? Who's it from?" Jaebeom asked a little confused

“I've no idea, they didn't leave a name just took off,” the young lady replied.

“What did they look like?” Jaebeom pressed.

“Hmm not quite as tall as you, short brown hair, he was kind of cute too.”

“Well that could describe a lot of people, but if you see them again, tell them thanks, I appreciate it!” Jaebeom responded with a smile, wondering who he knew that would just stop by and drop off food; for which he was grateful for of course.

“Hey, loser give your lunch money away again.” 

"Again?" Youngjae moved swiftly out of the way as a burly looking young man walked into the office.

“None of your business,” Jaebeom sighed as the burly guy wrapped his arm around the young lady. 

“Don't be giving this loser charity, Soo Young, he'll expect it every day,”

“When did they let out of your cage, Min Hwa? And why are you even here?” Soo Young sighed removing his and from her shoulder an dropping it abruptly by his side.

“I just got a free pass to the movies,” Min Hwa, bragged waving two tickets under the nose of Jaebeom, like he was supposed to care, which Youngjae noted by the look on Jaebeom's face, that he really didn't, then going back over to Soo Young, Min Hwa waved them in front of her. “You want to come?”

“No thank you, I'd rather watch an elephant eat leaves,” Soo Young replied staunchly as she left. 

Once she'd gone Min Hwa grabbed Jaebeom by the collar and Jaebeom sighed. His face was expressionless.

“What have I told you about chatting up my woman?” Min Hwa said gruffly.

“She's not your woman, Min Hwa, she's not even my woman,” Jaebeom said sounding fed up of this guy already.

“Then why were you taking advantage of her, he said grabbing the bag of food out of Jaebeom's hands.

Youngjae saw red he had seen so many of his previous charges go through this kind of bullying and he looked around for something to make this blockhead go away.

“A friend of mine dropped it off," he said calmly. "Soo Young just brought it down to me,” Jaebeom snatched it back. “Now, if you're finished making a fool of yourself, whilst pretending to be tough, would you kindly go back to your own section. I'd like to be able to breathe clean air again and eat my lunch.”

“You'd better watch yourself, runt, or I'll shove my fist in your face.”

Jaebeom yawned and started to open the plastic bag when Min Hwa angrily made a fist then pilled Jaebeom up from his seat. “Are you ignoring me, runt?”

Suddenly there was a loud crashing noise behind them, causing both of them to jump and Min Hwa let go of Jaebeom, just as more of the staff members ran in to see what happened.

One of the senior floor managers noticed Min Hwa as they were trying to figure out how the cabinets with their contents spilt out on the floor, had fallen over.

What are you doing here again, Min Hwa? Get back to your own section right now! And if I find you in mine once more, you'll get a written warning. Now get out.”

Min Hwa took off rather quickly not letting the floor manager say anything more.

“Was he giving you a hard time again JB?” The senior floor manager came over and sat beside him as he began to go through the bag of food in front of him.

Youngjae stood in the far corner quite please with himself. He hadn't said a word, nor had anyone been anywhere near the disaster zone he'd created, but it sure as hell stopped Min 'Hwasshole' as he'd aptly nicknamed him, from finishing what he'd started. 

He hadn't touched either of them or said one word. He smiled quite content as he watched the floor manager sit next to Jaebeom watching their interactions.

“You know if he continues to bully you, you can make a report?” The senior floor manager said nodding to the cabinets. 

“He didn't do that,” Jaebeom informed the senior floor manager, “he was too busy getting ready to flog me to do that. He'll be no wiser as to how they fell over than I am and you know I wouldn't stick up for him.”

"True, but, why do you put up with him JB?”

Jaebeom just smiled, as he ate some of the food, “You just don't know what a person is going through sometimes. There's always a reason for hiding something about yourself, even for bullies like him.”

“Let me know if he comes here again, I'll sort it him out,” The senior floor manager gave Jaebeom a pat on the arm and got up. “Keep up the great work JB.”

“Yes sir,” Jaebeom said with a smile as he watched the rest of the staff finish up with the cabinets, still trying to figure out how the hell they fell down.

He shook his head and continued to eat, things had been really weird the past two days.

Youngjae stood by the corner out of the way, contemplating Jaebeom's words. Jaebeom had said almost the same thing that he had thought earlier that morning about Jaebeom, and even though Min 'Hwasshole' was bullying him, Jaebeom had stood his ground, but refused to blame him either and Youngjae had a hard time fathoming it. He would have thrown the guy under a bus, figuratively of course. Still, he just stood by watching until the end of lunch break and following Jaebeom back out into his section resigned himself to a more than likely, boring afternoon.


	5. Chapter 5

As Youngjae suspected the afternoon was indeed boring, except for the guy that came in drunk trying to return something that he bought at a different store. That was kind of entertaining, watching Jaebeom continuously trying to explain to them when they could barely even stand, that it was from the store two blocks down. But Jaebeom somehow managed to get the drunken man to understand and even Youngjae had to admit he was impressed.

The return journey home was pretty much the same as the one there. Youngjae stayed in behind the bus driver and got off when Jaebeom did, followed him to the steps of the front door and waited until he went inside. 

It was the next bit that would be tricky. Getting inside without going visible, but becoming visible before Jaebeom could walk out from wherever he was to greet him.

Sighing Youngjae looked around, the coast was clear outside so he opened the door quickly then shut it touching his watch with his free hand as he did so, becoming visible just in time as Jaebeom came out of his bedroom.

“Nice timing, I'm just about to go and make dinner,” Jaebeom said with a smile.

“Did you want some help?” Youngjae asked. He figured Jaebeom deserved some after today

“Sure, why not?” Jaebeom replied as he headed back into the kitchen.

“Gimme a sec, I'll get changed. Youngjae headed to his room, grabbing out his phone and opening it.

“Hey Puppy boy, how's things?” 

“You really need to stop hanging around those two, Yugyeom, they're rubbing off on you, and not for the better,” he said with a sigh. “Anyway, where's Jackass? I have something really important to ask him.”

“Hang on I'll put him on,” Yugyeom yelled out for Jackson

There was muffled laughter and then finally Jackson took the phone. “What's up?”

“What's up," Jackson asked. "I can't walk through anything, what the hell is happening?”

“Oh that, I knew I forgot to mention something. It's an after effect of the atmosphere there. It'll come back; eventually,” Jackson said jovially.

“Are you kidding me? How am I supposed to avoid bumping into other people until then?” Youngjae said getting a little snappy.

“Sorry, buddy I can't control their atmosphere. Oh and by the way?”

“What?” Youngjae said expecting something dumb to come out of Jackson's mouth, “You going to tell me if that I don't get in by midnight I turn into a puppy or something?”

“Yeah how'd you know? It's part of your punishment,” Jackson calmly replied.

“WHAT THE HELL?”

“Are you okay Youngjae?” Jaebeom said yelling out from the kitchen.

Yeah, sorry Jaebeom, I'm just on a call to Jackson.”

“Okay as long as you're alright?” Jaebeom double checked.

“Yeah I'm fine,” he yelled back again, “although jackass here, might not be when I see him next,” he said in a whisper

“I was joking you, idiot,” Jackson laughed.

“You'd better be because that's not funny at all. Say what you have to say and be quick about it. I need to go help with dinner.”

“That's a first, you helping cook.” 

Jackson, please!” Youngjae pleaded. “Just get on with it already.”

“Okay, okay. Take a chill pill Choi. Anyway, you need to up your Guardian game. We found out the light falling in the casino was no accident.”

“What? It was deliberate?” Youngjae looked shocked.

“Yeah, we're looking into it now. We've also got more information on your case now too.?”

“You mean the stuff in his file wasn't everything?” 

“No, it wasn't. We were actually handed this case just a short time ago. After his last Guardian was killed?”

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?”

“Youngjae, are you sure you're okay?” Jaebeom's voice called out again

“Yeah, Jaebeom, sorry, I'm fine. Jackson's just doing my head right now. I'll be out to help you soon.” Youngjae informed him

“Sure thing, no rush. I'm just washing the vegetables at the moment.”

“Who the hell washes their vegetables?” Jackson laughed.

“Him obviously. “ Youngjae sighed, “Anyway why was his last Guardian killed and how did he die? I didn't sign up for a death ride you know Wang?"

“Yes, I know that. Anyway continuing as you requested, It seems our young Im is on the receiving end of some nasty death threats.”

“Death threats? Him? Boring boy? Who the hell would want to kill him?”

“You saw his file right?” Jackson inquired.

“Yeah, why?”

“Think about it, slowpoke. Why do you think he's in a crappy part of the area, living in crappy house miles and miles away from the people who are supposed to love and nurture him?" Jackson said making it as obvious as possible.

“No way?” 

“Yes, way.” Jackson confirmed

“And his last Guardian I'm assuming was killed because he got found out trying to get the information you just got on him right?” Youngjae surmised.

Jackson clicked his tongue. “You got it genius.” 

“So they know about Guardians? Do they know he has a new one? Do they know it's me?” Youngjae asked, a little panicked

“No, they don't,” Jackson replied honestly. “As far as we know the only reason his last Guardian got caught was that he became visible while in the house thinking everyone was out. Got shot in the head point blank, he had just sent us the information and was quick enough to self destruct his computer just before it happened.”

“Oh shit, that's great that is.” Youngjae sighed yet again. “So you think they've tracked him down?”

“Well, the casino is In the upper section of the two areas, so they might have seen him go in there, but it's more of a hunch than a full yes at this point.” Jackson replied stoically.

“Shit if they followed them that means his friends might be in danger?” Youngjae worried.

“These aren't uptown criminals, Youngjae these are his family, well supposed to be his family. He's the sole heir to that estate, it's worth hundreds of millions. His parents supposedly died in a car crash, we think they were murdered. Now, we think the remaining family are after Jaebeom too. He moved away to make his own way, but he still holds the right to the estate.”

“Nice of you to use his name finally, Youngjae scoffed. 

“Yeah, well, hardly the point here is it?” Jackson threw back.

“So what do we do now then?” Youngjae asked. 

“All we can do is just keep a vigil and hope your skills come back before they find him. Walking through walls might be a good thing if they do.”

“How long do you think we have before they make a connection and guess that he's here at this end of the world?” Youngjae bit the bottom of his top lip in anticipation.

“In all honesty, we don't know, we're monitoring them the best we can. May a few days, weeks even months. It's anyone's guess.” Jackson responded as best he could.

“Ready when you are Youngjae,” Jaebeom called from the hallway this time.

“Look, I need to go, just keep me informed of anything you find out or if they start to make their move.”

“Will do, same for you.” Jackson agreed.

“Yeah, I will. Thanks, Jackson.”

“Hey, Youngjae?”

“Yeah?” 

“Just, be careful,” Jackson began gently, “we don't want to lose you, even as annoying as you are.”

“I will. I promise. I'm out.” Youngjae hung up the phone changed quickly and headed out into the kitchen.

“Sorry about that. Jackson talks a lot, says a lot of shit and I just want to smack him one with a plank of wood sometimes.” Youngjae apologised as he stood by Jaebeom at the table. 

“Sounds like you guys are more like brothers than friends,” Jaebeom said as he smiled at Youngjae.

“Ugh, who'd want that pest as a brother.” Youngjae chuckled.

Looking at the smile on Jaebeom's face, Youngjae could sense the sadness behind it, and he realised that Jaebeom fully knew the situation he was in. Not only that but he could see that he missed having a family that loved and cared about him and there was no doubt behind the pain he could sense that Jaebeom knew what was going on and that he was just choosing to hide it.

Youngjae wished that he could tell him that everything would be okay, but he couldn't say a thing.

“So, let's get this party started, then we can go shopping. I'll shout for groceries for now. I got paid in advance. So I'm flush,” he said with a wink.

Jaebeom laughed and handed Youngjae a knife. “Don't cut yourself, I ran out of bandaids.”

Youngjae looked at him and gave him a playful smile, “I'll buy you five packs, just let me chop shit already, I'm hungry”

Jaebeom laughed and watched as Youngjae set about chopping.

After a minute or two Youngjae looked up to see Jaebeom staring at him. “You okay? Am I doing this wrong?”

Jaebeom shook his head. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“About?” Youngjae asked.

“You didn't come by my work today and hand someone food to give to me did you?” Jaebeom asked Youngjae still looking at him.

“Huh me? Er, no I don't even know where you work,” Youngjae lied.

“Hmm.”

“Why? What happened?” Youngjae asked, even though he once again already knew.

“One of my work colleagues said someone came by and handed her a huge bag of food and drinks for me out of the blue,” Jaebeom said looking even more perplexed than he had the night before. 

“Oh, any idea who might have done it?” Youngjae asked innocently.

“She said he was slightly shorter than me, short brown hair and kind of cute too. You kind of fit the bill, you're a little shorter than me, short brown hair, kind of...”

“Don't even go there...” Youngjae replied waving a carrot at him, “and besides anyone could fit that description,” he said repeating Jaebeom's own words to him.

“Exactly what I said,” Jaebeom said with a grin.

“You know what?” Youngjae said putting the carrot down. “Let's just finish off these and cook tomorrow night. We need to go out for chicken and beer. 'You' need to go out for chicken and beer. Also my shout.”

“That's random,” Jaebeom laughed again.

“Random is good, spontaneous is awesome,” Youngjae said with a wink

“I see,” Jaebeom chuckled. “I'm not usually like that, but it sounds like fun.”

“You have no idea just how much fun," Youngjae replied raising an eyebrow, "Are you in for chicken and beer?”

Jaebeom began packing everything up and throwing them back into the fridge instead of finishing things. “Let's do it. I really could use some fun!”

Youngjae gave him a hearty slap on the back, “That's the spirit, Im Jaebeom. Let's get out of here!”

The two of them ran into their rooms grabbed, their wallets, Jaebeom grabbed his car keys too and they headed out the door, both with ridiculously wide grins on their faces.


	6. Chapter 6

It wasn't long before the two boys were in the grocery store and Jaebeom watched as Youngjae threw more stuff in that cart that he'd seen in weeks, and two hundred and fifty something thousand won later, he was staring at the mass amounts of bags they had to carry back to the car.

“Youngjae, are you sure this is okay? That's like a lot of money you just spent, more than I would probably spend in a month on food and stuff.”

“That's nothing, my budget used to be double this,” he said as he pushed the cart out of the store and into the car park.

“Where the hell did you live? Uptown?”

“You could say that.” Youngjae smiled at him as he started placing the bags in the car.”

“So since we have your car we should get chicken and beer to go. I don't want you to get done for drunk driving.”

“How considerate of you,” Jaebeom said as he helped put the bags in the car.

“I'm in the car with you, of course, I don't want you to drive drunk,” Youngjae chuckled.

“You're cheeky, Choi, You do realise I'm your senior here right?” Jaebeom gave him a playful thwap to the back of his head

“Pfft, I am so not calling you hyung,” Youngjae laughed.

“Disrespectful little..”

So...” Youngjae said cutting Jaebeom off abruptly as he shut the back of the car up. “I noticed there were some arcade game places around the place. I challenge you to a few. If you win, I'll call you hyung, if you lose...”

“I am 'not' calling you hyung.” Jaebeom laughed raising an eyebrow and giving him another clip to the head.

“Such violence does not become you, Im Jaebeom,” Youngjae said waggling his finger at him. “I was going to say, if I win, you have to buy dessert, that was all.” 

“Sure I can do that.”

“Shake,” Youngjae said holding out his hand to Jaebeom who happily took it.

“Don't back down if I win, Choi.”

“Don't run away if 'I' do,” Youngjae smirked as they headed towards the closest games arcade.

“Not a chance.” Jaebeom's confidence impressed Youngjae.

“We'll see,” Youngjae countered.

“So what are the rules?” Jaebeom asked.

Youngjae stopped at a claw machine. “Five games each, but you get to choose what I play and vice versa. The player with the most successes after those five games wins. If in the end, it's a draw, we both agree on a two player game and highest scorer wins.”

“Seems fair and simple,” Jaebeom agreed.

“Alright, rock paper scissors, whoever wins gets to choose first.”

“Fine by me,” Jaebeom agreed again.

“Right then, on three. One... two... three!”

Their hands were out quicker than a flash and Youngjae glared at his paper to Jaebeom's scissors. “Best out of three?” He asked with puppy eyes. 

“Nice try,” Jaebeom laughed as he grabbed Youngjae by the arms and walked him backwards, towards the first game he wanted him to play. 

“So I guess that's a no?”

“Play the game, Choi.” Jaebeom turned him around to face his first game.

“Ooh, I like this one,” Youngjae said rather cheerfully as he pulled some change out and started the game up. 

Jaebeom hated this game, he had tried it a few times and never could get the top prize. He watched as Youngjae guided the rod towards an MP3 player in the machine and held his breath as the other young man seem to calculate his every move, slowly and surely and then he shoved it hard and the prize fell down into the chute.

“Are you kidding me?” Jaebeom was definitely shocked, he'd never seen anyone win at this before at least not while he was in the arcade. “How the heck did you manage that. I've tried it so many times and not once could I get it in the right place to get a prize to actually fall.”

Youngjae gave him the smuggest of looks as he reached down and grabbed the prize out waving it at him. “Skill, Jaebeom, skill.” 

“Okay, so you got that one, so, let's try,” he looked around the place and dragged Youngjae over to the next one.

“Youngjae looked at him and gave him another smug look, “You sure you want me to play this?”

“Don't try and make me change my mind, it won't work,” Jaebeom said standing to the side of the next game.

Youngjae grimaced Jaebeom had seen right through his ploy. Putting his money into the machine, he released the ball from it's resting place and as it bounced around in it's confined space, Youngjae felt the pressure. This one he knew relied solely on luck and not skill. It landed on a two. He released his second ball and then his third both landing on low numbers as well. 

“So, a total of eight. Make sure you remember that.” It was Jaebeom's turn to be smug.

“You haven't even played anything yet, Im, keep that in mind.” Youngjae reminded him with a smirk.

“Okay, this one.” Jaebeom pointed to a game where you had to roll the ball up a chute and into holes marked from 1000 to 10000.

“This is your biggest mistake, Im, this is my 'go to game'!” Youngjae said with a grin as he placed his money into the slot and the eight balls came down. 

“Jaebeom watched as Youngjae rolled the balls and scored a total on the above scoreboard of three hundred thousand for his efforts.

“Nice,” Jaebeom commented as Youngjae threw him another smug look.

Jaebeom dragged him to the next game and Youngjae gave him the most unamused look.

“Why, just why?”

“Just pick up the whacker and start bashing things.” Jaebeom grinned. 

Youngjae sighed and started up the game. He hated whack a mole with a passion.

By the end of it, Youngjae was ready to concede total defeat. His score was so low that he could barely look Jaebeom in the face.

Jaebeom seemed all too pleased with the outcome however, as he dragged Youngjae over to the last game.

“Okay, now I know you're just feeling sorry for me after that last game,” Youngjae said giving him a pouty face as he looked up at a basketball ring.

“I'm a fair guy,” Jaebeom informed him, “you can redeem your confidence here.”

“Thanks,” Youngjae said as he started the game, the air of sarcasm in his voice causing Jaebeom to chuckle under his breath.

Jaebeom watched as Youngjae began to play. In all honesty, Jaebeom had to admit, that Youngjae might actually get a decent score. He'd barely missed a basket.

Seventy-five points later and Jaebeom had to admit once more that he was impressed with Youngjae's skill.

“That's a pretty impressive score,” Jaebeom said sincerely as he gave Youngjae a hearty pat on the back. 

“Thanks, Jaebeom, but I suggest you prepare yourself for defeat now, I'm not going easy on you at all.” 

“You're on, let's do this!” Jaebeom grinned, “Then we'll really see who comes out on top.”

“Im Jaebeom,” Youngjae began, his mischievousness exploding over the top. “I've barely even known you five minutes, and you're already talking about topping.”


	7. Chapter 7

Jaebeom's bright red face gave great amusement to Youngjae as he laughed, moving swiftly out of the older man's reach as he attempted to once more thwap him upside the head.

“Just remember Youngjae if I win this, 'you' have to call me hyung,” Jaebeom reminded him as he managed to reign his embarrassment into a place where he could cope with it.

“Sure, sure,” Youngjae said still laughing. “Now, what should I torment you with?”

“Besides just being yourself you mean?” Jaebeom quipped.

“Ooh boring guy can be funny,” Youngjae said throwing him a smile that made Jaebeom want to smack him down some more. 

“Boring guy? Really? Go on pick something, anything. Boring guy, pfft, I'll show you boring.” 

“Anything?” Youngjae replied as he eyed up a few of the games they hadn't even looked at yet. “Are you sure about that?”

“Anything,” Jaebeom said taunting him.

Youngjae smirked and signalled him to follow him over to the claw machines, “Half the time these things are rigged, you have to grab any five toys in five minutes.”

“Five in five huh? You're on,” Jaebeom said calmly as he put money into the machine and poised his hand above the start button.

“Ready?” Youngjae began.

Jaebeom nodded.

“And... GO!”

Jaebeom scanned the toys made his choices and grabbed his first one. He was sure he could see Youngjae willing them to fall off the claw, especially since by the time they had hit four minutes he already had his fifth in the claw. The claw hand wobbled as the toy came close to falling out, but didn't.

Youngjae watched as Jaebeom snagged another with little effort and it dropped just as Youngjae halted him.

Jaebeom turned around and leaned against the machine giving Youngjae the smuggest of looks before he reached in and took his six prizes out. 

“Mind getting me a bag, Youngjae? I believe I need to put these somewhere before I start the next game.” Jaebeom voice was as smug as the look on his face.

“You got lucky Im,” Youngjae said as he wandered over to the counter and asked for a bag.

“Thanks, so what's next?” Jaebeom asked as he took the bag from Youngjae and dropped his toys one by one, in front of Youngjae's face, into it.

“And Jackson says I'm a smart ass.”

“You are, definitely, there's no doubt about it.” Jaebeom agreed as he held his bag up. “All done.”

“Fine, this one won't be easy,” he said as he led Jaebeom over to a game where you had to pick the right set of numbers in a sequence to win the prize.

“Really?” Jaebeom sighed.

He didn't look at all impressed about it, which made Youngjae rather happy.

Jaebeom stood staring at it for a few seconds.

“Come on start it up,” Youngjae chuckled,

Jaebeom did so and Youngjae figuring out he had this in the bag turned away to look for the next game to throw Jaebeom at.

When Youngjae found his next game target, he turned back to give Jaebeom him his condolences seconds later and ended up with a face full of fur.

“Penguin?” Jaebeom said as he shoved it into Youngjae's arms.

“Wait, this wasn't supposed to happen,” Youngjae said a little surprised staring into the penguin's face.

“This is actually fun. Come on next one,” Jaebeom said enthusiastically as he walked off.

Youngjae glared at the back of Jaebeom's head, realising he'd been played for a fool. Obviously, that must have been one of his best games.

“You tricked me that time Im, but not this time.” Youngjae said confidently as he walked him over to a game that you had to stop the light on the exact number.”

Jaebeom laughed “Payback for the whack a mole right?” 

“You betcha. Enjoy.” Youngjae leant against the machine as Jaebeom finally lost his first game.

“Ahh, I can taste the victory,” Youngjae said patting Jaebeom on the back as he walked over to the 

“I still have two left yet. Don't get too cocky.” Jaebeom smirked.

“Pfft I'm not too cocky, I'm just well hu...”

Jaebeom shoved his hand over Youngjae's mouth. “You know, I can see why Jackson likes to drag you around by the collar. You need to be controlled.”

Youngjae looked at him and Jaebeom could feel the smirk on Youngjae's face forming and rolled his eyes as Youngjae wiggled his.

“Would you stop, preferably 'before' we get kicked out." Jaebeom laughed as he let Youngjae go, booting his backside as the younger man ran forward to try and escape. “Right I have two more. Pick them wisely, Choi.”

Youngjae scanned the room again and in the corner, he spotted a ride on bull.

Jaebeom heard his quiet, yet evil little laugh as he was dragged over sleeve first by him.

Even Jaebeom knew that Youngjae was going to hit him with the highest level of speed and shook his head.

“You can concede now if you like?" Youngjae raised an eyebrow, "but if you don't get on, you'll automatically fail the challenge.

“I don't remember that being part of the original rules, but whatever, it's not like I'd let you win without a fight anyway,?” Jaebeom snorted playfully at him.

“On you get.” Youngjae rubbed his hands and waited until Jaebeom got on the ride.

“You're enjoying this way too much!” 

“At least you seem to know what enjoyment is now.” Youngjae threw back at him as he pressed the start button and slowly the bull became faster and faster until finally, Jaebeom ended up on the mats below the ride. Youngjae cracking up as Jaebeom crawled up from the ground a little dizzy.

Youngjae ran up to Jaebeom and steadied him as he almost toppled over. “Let's wait until you stop spinning before your last game. Mind you, I'm surprised, you hung on longer than I thought you would.”

"As I said,” Jaebeom reiterated. “I'm not letting you win without a fight.”

Youngjae laughed. He was pretty much sure he'd lost anyway, but he was going to make sure Jaebeom played the final game before announcing it.

But what game could he make as Jaebeom's final one? 

“Hmm. I know.” Youngjae led Jaebeom over to a seat and sat him down. “Let's see you knock those down,” he said as he pointed to the final game he'd decided on for Jaebeom.

“Are you sure?” Jaebeom said with a chuckle.

“Oh, you're funny. Not gonna work though, you're staying right there.” Youngjae saw through his ploy.

“Too bad then,” Jaebeom said with a smirk as it took less than a minute to knock all the wooden slats down.

Youngjae sighed. 

“Is it even worth adding the final tally up?” Jaebeom looked at Youngjae with a very wide grin

“Nope, you win. I was just hoping you wouldn't.”

“Underestimated boring guy quite a bit didn't you?”

Youngjae looked at him nodding. “Looks like I did.”

“You're missing a word there Youngjae. Looks like I did...?” Jaebeom pressed.

“Looks like I did… hyung.” Youngjae sighed as Jaebeom fist pumped the air.

Jaebeom laughed as Youngjae's face echoed his defeat and he gave the younger man a firm slap on the back. “Good Job I don't have work again until Wednesday, I intend to celebrate with that chicken and beer. Actually, forget the beer can we go soju?”

“Talk about taking liberties with the new guy,” Youngjae said laughing as he picked up Jaebeom's bag of toys from the floor by his seat.

“But sure, I'm in for soju!”

Hugging the penguin Jaebeom had given him, Youngjae felt suitably pleased with himself. 

At least now boring boy was smiling.


	8. Chapter 8

Jaebeom stopped by the takeout place and Youngjae grabbed the chicken first, then they stopped by to grab the soju. Youngjae grabbed a few bottles, it had been way too long since he had it, that he fully intended to enjoy himself. 

They got home and Jaebeom set the small table up in the lounge room, grabbed the soju cups from the kitchen and waited for Youngjae to open the chicken up.

"God that smells so good," Youngjae said as he leaned over the table. " Here," he said handing Jaebeom a pair of chopsticks.

As Youngjae dug in, Jaebeom watched him and smiled. He had been worried about taking in a housemate. It had taken him ages to decide to go ahead with it, but he was glad he'd taken in Youngjae. He was such a breath of fresh air. 

A little bit on the overly excited side, but at least he was fun. 

Youngjae waved his chopsticks in front of Jaebeom's face. " You in there?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking." Jaebeom grabbed some food as Youngjae opened a bottle of soju and handed it to him. "Thanks," Jaebeom said smiling at him

"So what were you thinking about? You were so deep in thought, I was gonna throw a fishing line down."

Jaebeom chuckled. "I was thinking about you, actually "

Youngjae gave him a mock look of surprise. "Im Jaebeom, I had no idea that you were such a big flirt. First, you wanna top me, and now you're thinking about me again, shameless, just shameless."

Jaebeom rolled his eyes, "Are you sure Jackson's the idiot?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Ahuh, positive. Jackson is indeed the idiot."

Jaebeom poured some soju into his glass and then offered it to Youngjae.

"So," he began as he watched Youngjae pour some soju into his cup, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but since you seem to make light of it quite a bit, are you, you know?"

"What, gay?"

"Yeah."

"I wouldn't exactly say that, but what I will say is, that it really wouldn't matter as long as I could fall in love with them naturally. How about you?"

"Never really thought about it, to be honest, but I guess you can't help who you fall in love with even if it was someone if the same sex, right?"

"Exactly. Love is love as far as I'm concerned," Youngjae said before stuffing his face with more chicken.

Jaebeom did the same.

"What you got planned for tomorrow?" Youngjae asked.

Sleeping off the soju for one, " he grinned. 

"What else?"

"Not really sure," Jaebeom said thinking about it, "Although, I read that they have a puppy cafe down..."

"Omgweneedtogoweneedtogoooo." Youngjae said throwing himself at Jaebeom.

"Might want to breathe there a bit Youngjae,” Jaebeom said as he pried Youngjae's hands off his legs and sat him back upright. “I take it you'd like to go?"

For a second he thought Youngjae might nod his head off into oblivion and he stopped him mid nod.  

"Okay, I think I get the idea. You really are a bit odd, surely you've been to a puppy cafe before?"

"Nope never," Youngjae sighed.

"Have you ever even got to pat any?" Jaebeom asked surprised by Younjgae's reaction. 

"Oh, yeah a couple of times, " he told Jaebeom, "that's partly what got me in trouble," he added under his breath.

"Sorry? What?"

"Oh, I said it might keep me out of trouble" Youngjae quickly replied.

"Only if we're lucky," Jaebeom poked him in the middle of the head.

"Yeah, pretty much," Youngjae replied smirking and rubbing the spot where Jaebeom had poked.

“More soju?” Jaebeom asked.

“Pass me a bottle please, would you?”

“You want a whole one?” Jaebeom looked at him with a raised eyebrow and passing him a bottle

“Yeah come on Jaeb, I mean, hyung, let's get this party started, you wanna sleep off soju we gotta do this properly.” Youngjae grabbed another bottle and opened it handing it to Jaebeom.

“Are you serious this stuff is potent and we still haven't finished this...” he watched as Youngjae grabbed the other bottle Jaebeom had first opened and skulled it down within a few seconds.

“Shit, Youngjae, you're crazy,” Jaebeom said as he laughed.

“I need to get out more,” Youngjae began a little more drunkenly now, “Been stuck in that stupid office for years without a break and this is the thanks I get, fuck you, Jackson, you could have stuck up for me.”

Jaebeom grabbed the other bottle of soju off him straight away and just as he did there came a knock on the door.

“Don't answer it, I'll go,” Youngjae ordered seeing Jaebeom get up out of his seat. “You don't know what weirdos might be out there waiting for you this time of night,”

“Well considering you were out there with Jackson last night later than this...”

Youngjae got up and held his hand out flat “No, you stay right here.”

Jaebeom laughed as Youngjae stumbled towards the door, yelling and followed him out just in case he fell.

“Who's there? You can't have Jaebeom, he's mine, well he's not mine, but you still can't have him!”

“Oh my god, Youngjae stop,” Jaebeom said his face bright red again, smacking his head with his hand.

“It's me, you idiot,” Jackson's voice called out from behind the door. "Have you been drinking?”

“No, not a drop Jackass old buddy. I'm perfectly sobler, sombler, sonber... not drunk,” Youngjae said quite proudly.

Jaebeom pushed him out of the way and opened the door. “I'm so sorry, he went a bit nuts with the soju, right before you knocked actually.”

“Ahh, it's me who should be sorry then. I forgot to mention, he can't hold his alcohol.”

“Yes, I can. I can drink three times this when I'm at the Guar... mmph.”

Jackson quickly shoved his hand over his mouth. “Go sit down, before you fall down you idiot.”

Jaebeom shook his head as he closed the front door, ushering Jackson and a very drunk Youngjae back into the lounge.

“So what brings you here?” Jaebeom asked Jackson.

“I just wanted to see how this idiot was doing,” he replied shoving Youngjae down onto the couch. “Wished I'd thought to warn you sooner about the alcohol intolerance.”

Youngjae glared at Jackson. “I am 'not' alcohol intolerant, I'm Jackass intolerant!”

“Anyway," he continued ignoring Youngjae. "This is just a brief stop by, firstly hide the alcohol, secondly hide it well. Never underestimate Youngjae's alcohol sensing abilities, trust me he's good at finding things, trouble being the main thing.”

“Not surprised there.” Jaebeom agreed.

“But the real reason I'm here is to drop this off to you,” He said handing Jaebeom a watch. “This is from Jaebeom's father as a thank you for taking the mischievous lout in.”

“Oh but, I don't need any thanks, he's fine really, I can deal with him, so don't worry.”

“He insisted, ever since Youngjae's mother died, he's never really been the same.”

“My mother died?” Youngjae asked puzzled.

“Yes, Youngjae, remember? See this is why you shouldn't drink...” Jackson glared at him.

“Ohh, oh yeah.” Youngjae finally clicked on. “Yeah, just take it, my old man can afford it, stupid old thing.”

“Youngjae, stop, no more out of you until Jackson's finished,” Jaebeom ordered him

“Fine,” Youngjae pouted, “But he still can't have you.”

“Shh...” Jaebeom shoved another piece of chicken into Youngjae's mouth. “Sorry Jackson,”Jaebeom apologised.

“No, it's fine I'm used to him, I'm just surprised he actually shut up for you. That's pretty much a miracle right there.”

Youngjae glared at Jackson again ripping the meat off the bone.

“So yes, anyway, take it, please. He really wanted you to have it.” Jackson held the watch out to Jaebeom again.

Jaeboem smiled, nodded taking the watch from Jackson. “Tell his father thanks, and not to worry, I'll take care of his wayward child.”

“I'm sure he'll be grateful to hear it.” Jackson nodded to Youngjae who was teetering over on the couch with another piece of chicken half in his hand, half in his mouth while falling asleep. “You might want to um,”

“Oh yeah,” 

“I'll see myself out, you attend to drunken chicken man. Later Jaebeom.”

“Yeah and thanks again, Jackson.”

“No problem, take care.” Jackson waved as he left the room and then the house the door shutting behind him.

Jaebeom looked down at Youngjae before grabbing the half-eaten piece of chicken from him and throwing it onto the table.

“Right you menace, let's get you to bed.” Jaebeom hoisted Youngjae up, carried him into his bedroom and gently placed him down onto his bed. Then removing his shoes and socks Jaebeom looked around for his pyjamas.

He looked at the sleeping young man and chuckled. “You're gonna owe me for this Choi,” he said as he begun to undress him.

Jaebeom had no doubt that Youngjae wouldn't remember a thing in the morning and he revelled in the fact that, that in itself would be revenge enough.


	9. Chapter 9

Jackson arrived back at Guardian HQ and reported in.  After which he headed back to his section where Bambam had been waiting for him to get back.

"How'd it go?" He asked.

"The idiot got himself wasted on soju."

"What the hell was he thinking? He knows it's gonna make him ill. Look at what happened the last time the idiot drunk earth alcohol."

"I know, but you just can't tell him." Jackson sighed. 

"I can't figure him out. No matter what gets thrown at him, he just keeps going. I'm worried about him though." Bambam said folding his arms.

"Why?" Jackson looked at him puzzled. 

"It's been four years since his old guardian partner died. He won't talk about them, won't work with anyone else, and he hasn't allowed anyone else to get close to him since then."

"I remember. Youngjae was a mess. I’d been here a year at that point. They were pretty close weren’t they?”

Bambam nodded. "Considering they were engaged, I'd say they were, yeah."

*Well shit. Really?"  Jackson was extremely shocked. “I had no idea.” 

"Yeah. The boss thinks Youngjae does the things he does because that's how he copes with it." 

"Great, now I feel like a real ass."

"Why?"

“Because, first I dropped the bombshell about his case's, last Guardian getting killed, then, when I went there to drop off the damn tracking watch, I used the excuse that his mother had died."

Bambam sighed. "Oops, well, you honestly had no idea, you can't blame yourself." 

“Yeah, but both times he totally acted like to was no big deal. Like he's shut off those emotions, but he was all flirty when it came to his case. I hope he's not going to go and have some kind of intense break down doing this.”

“As I said, the boss thinks his behaviour for the past few years stems from losing his partner, he jokes around a lot to cover up his feelings. He has to be ready to let it go and he's not.”

“But four years?”

“Yeah, but it gets worse around the anniversary of his partner's death, which is why he probably wanted to get himself smashed, getting drunk then going to sleep equals not having to deal with it.”

“If he's getting smashed now, it must mean that...?”

“Yeah, it's tomorrow.” 

“Shit the poor kid, I kind of regret being such a 'Jackass' now.”

“You need to be, otherwise, he'll just keep going the way he is. Boss said he still has to learn, even if it's the hard way. Can't mollycoddle him for the rest of his life.”

“Yeah true,” Jackson said as he sat at his desk. “Did he take the free counselling?”

“Nope wouldn't accept anything, just took it all on himself, even blames himself and it wasn't even his fault. It was one of those things.”

“Can I ask what happened?”

“It was a case very similar to this,” Bambam began, “Youngjae and his partner were tailing two of the perpetrators. They were both following protocol to the letter. They arrived at the warehouse they were leaning on some metal frames, recorded the information they needed and sent it through to us and their case turns up to confront the perpetrators, even though the police had warned him to stay away. As the two of them started causing a ruckus, Youngjae's partner's watch got snagged on something and when he pulled it free it pulled it right off.”

“Shit, that's bad.”

“Yeah, really bad. So their case and the bad guys freak. Their case takes off in the confusion and it only took a few seconds before they came for Youngjae's partner. It all happened so quick. Youngjae remained invisible and took care of the other guy within a few seconds.” Bambam shook his head, “but his partner had no way of defending himself without his watch. Youngjae grabbed it and was running back over to them when his partner was stabbed at least six times right in front of him. The perp went for his vital organs right off the bat, the guy knew what he was doing.”

“Shit, what ended up happening?”

Turns out their case ended up calling the police and they turned up to find one guy knocked out senseless and the other beaten within an inch of his life and a pool of blood that, of course, couldn't be explained. We went there as soon as Youngjae came back through the portal, that;'s how we know the rest. The emergency medics tried to save his partner, once they got back here, but there was too much damage and not enough time. He died in Youngjae's arms.”

“Oh fuck... I wasn’t in their department back then. I’d heard it was bad, but never knew the full extent.

“It was awful. When he gave us his verbal report it was void of all emotion. But with in the year he started acting like everything didn't matter and doing things like whispering to his clients randomly patting dogs and puppies while he was invisible but still talking to them. Scared their owners a hell of a lot.”

“And that's why the boss overlooked it for a long time right? Which is why he acted this time?”

“Yeah, spot on. He had to, Youngjae was getting out of control.”

Jackson nodded then made a thinking face. “At least the boss took my advice, jackson smirked.”

“True, and this way Youngjae has to watch himself.” Bambam grinned.

“Yeah, in theory. He almost mentioned this place in his drunken stupor. I had to shove my hand over his big mouth. His case knows not to allow him to have any more now.” Jackson informed Bambam,

“Good job you shut him up then,” Bambam said shaking his head, “and he's going to pay for his stupidity in the morning when he wakes up with some ungodly fever. The idiot.”

“I feel sorry for his case, he has to deal with him. Makes me wonder who's the real guardian there.” Jackson chuckled.

“Well let's hope he gets his act together by the end of tomorrow because the family will be making their move sometime within the next few days our sources tell us.” Bambam warned Jackson.

“Shit I can't go back and let the idiot know, he's out cold already.” Jackson's frustration showed in his face.

“The information has already been sent to you so just send it through his emergency message channel,” Bambam instructed, “he'll get it tomorrow sometime at least. 

“I'll get on it now.” Opening up his laptop Jackson entered his password. Sighing he read through the information and then sent it to Youngjae.

Hopefully, nothing would happen while drunken chicken boy was out of it.

~*~

Jaebeom awoke halfway through the night and headed to the bathroom. On the way back as he walked by Youngjae's bedroom and stopped by the door. He could hear him coughing and he knocked on the door.

“Youngjae are you okay?”

“I... I'm fine.” His voice was strained and croaky.

“No your not, you sound awful.” Jaebeom went into the room turned the bedside light on. “Shit, you look awful.” He placed his hand over Youngjae's sweaty forehead, “You're burning up. I'll be right back." Jaebeom headed out to the kitchen.

Youngjae lay shivering in his bed, sweating profusely, lulling in and out of sleep. The alcohol running through his system playing havoc with his insides. He could hear the noises coming from the kitchen. Everything seemed so loud inside of his head, but he knew it was his own fault and would have to put up with it until it passed.

Jaebeom rushed back into the room and dragged the small desk over, then the chair. He rushed back off and Youngjae through his squinted eyes watched as he left again only to come back with a bowl of water, a washcloth and towel.

“You, you don't have to do this, really. Self-inflicted, I do it a lot.” Youngjae said quietly. 

“Just shut up and let me do this,” Jaebeom chastised him softly.

Youngjae managed a small smile and his eyes met Jaebeom's “Flirty and bossy, I like that.”

“You're the flirty one, not me. I'm the bossy one, got it?” Jaebeom smiled back as he wet the washcloth, ringing the excess water out before placing it over Youngjae's forehead. He grabbed the thermometer and turned it on. “Open,” he said as he held it out in front of Youngjae's mouth.

“I'd rather not,” he said knowing what Jaebeom's reaction would be when he saw his temperature.

“Open!” Jaebeom said a little firmer.

Youngjae refused to comply.

“Either you open up or there'll be no puppy cafe when you're better.” It was Jaebom's last resort.

“Mean,” Youngjae said as he begrudgingly opened his mouth allowing Jaebeom to pop the thermometer into his it.

“Yes, and I'll get meaner if you don't listen to me,” Jaebeom said as he sat back and waited.

He reached forward after it went off to grab it, but Youngjae pulled it out and looked at it first then hid it under the bed covers.

“Youngjae, give me the thermometer please.”

“Um, it's broken.”

“No puppy cafe!” 

“You're really mean,” he said handing it to Jaebeom sighing.

“I don't know why you're so worried about me helping you? It's almost as if you don't want me to.” He looked at the thermometer and stared at hard before getting up and moving the desk away. “We need to get you to the hospital. How the hell did you get this sick and in so little a time and that temperature why are you not dead?”

“Please, not the hospital, I'll be fine I just need to sleep, get the alcohol out of my system.”

“You're burning up like crazy.” Jaebeom kept calm as calm as he could given the situation. “You can't tell me that one hundred and thirty-two is normal.”

Youngjae opened his mouth to speak but Jaebeom didn't let him.

“ And I know it isn't broken. So don't even try and pull that one over me. I only just got it a week ago, this is the first time I've used it.”

Youngjae fought back the sleep as he was berated.

“Please just don't call the ambulance and don't take me to hospital. I can't go there. I just can't.

“Why not?”

“Because of who I am.” Youngjae admitted, “but please, please don't ask questions. I need you to trust me okay. Please just trust me.” 

“Jesus, Youngjae if you have a bad reaction to alcohol you should have warned me. Is this why Jackson not to let you drink?” Jaebeom demanded to know.

Youngjae nodded lightly as Jaebeom continued to berate him. “Fine, I'll trust you, but you'd better not die on me. Got it!?”

“I have a puppy cafe to go to like I'd die before I get to go to that.” Youngjae gave Jaebeom an extremely tired grin.

Jaebeom sighed and sat back down. “You have to be the oddest person I have ever met.” He took the cloth of Youngjae's head and rinsed it again, placing it back over his forehead.

Youngjae could see the worry in Jaebeom's eyes and he felt a little guilty. “So, isn't this the part where you sacrifice your dignity and take your clothes off to cool me down with your body?” 

“You wish,” Jaebeom snorted. “Nice to see you still have your sense of humour through this, but, It must be hard for you?”

“Why?” 

“Well, your mother passed away and your own father kicked you out. No one to look after you when you're sick. I think that's the worst.”

“Not when you've been doing it yourself for so long that you forget what it's like,” Youngjae said a little more quietly.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jaebeom offered.

“I'd rather not. I just want to sleep.”

“I'm sorry, Youngjae, you sleep. I only keep talking because I'm worried about you.” he rinsed and repeated his previous actions with the washcloth, then gently wiped Youngjae's face down.

As he got to one side of his face, Youngjae stopped Jaebeom's hand and held it there.

Jaebeom gave him a puzzled look.

“I'm sorry, I worried you,” Youngjae apologised sincerely.

Jaebeom gave him a forgiving smile. “Just get better, that's all I care about. Now shut up and sleep, so that I can shut up and let you sleep.”

Youngjae looked at him rather intensely for a few seconds and Jaebeom cocked his head

“What's wrong?”

“Will you stay by my side for a while. I'd rather not be alone right now.”

“I'm not going anywhere,” Jaebeom replied softly as he washed Youngjae's face down again. “At least not until you go back to sleep and I think your temperature has dropped sufficiently enough, to make me feel comfortable enough to leave.”

Youngjae gave a soft sigh as he closed his eyes, grateful for Jaebeom's company and he'd think about how to thank him for it later.

Jaebeom continued to gently wash his face, and as he slowly drifted off to sleep, only one thought came to mind.

Puppies.


	10. Chapter 10

Jaebeom sat quietly reading next to Youngjae's bed. The younger man had been asleep for just over an hour now and Jaebeom had kept quiet visual over his temperature. 

Sitting back in the chair, Jaebeom put the book down, watched Youngjae's sleeping face, and noticed that it was twitching, then Youngjae began muttering quietly at first in his sleep. 

Leaning in closer to hear better, Jaebeom heard Youngjae say something about someone called Min Sung, his voice slowly getting louder until Jaebeom could hear him urgently telling Min Sung to watch out.

As Youngjae began to get more restless he began to call out louder. The panic in his voice told Jaebeom that something must have happened to Youngjae previously or at least someone close to him.

It was when Youngjae started thrashing about and becoming distressed that Jaebeom realised whatever had happened to Youngjae's friend must have been serious.

As Youngjae started to thrash about more, Jaebeom reached over and began to rub the younger man's back gently until he began to calm down again. 

Finally settling Youngjae down, Jaebeom sat back in his chair again and began to read once more. Every now and again he glanced over to make sure that Youngjae was okay.

Another hour went by and Jaebeom reached over, placing his hand across Youngjae's forehead, checking to see if his temperature had gone down some.

To Jaebeom's's relief, Youngjae was considerably cooler than he was before and that made him extremely happy. He headed out to the bathroom to take a quick break, stopping by the kitchen first to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge.

Once he'd finished in the bathroom Jaebeom returned to Youngjae's room sitting back down in the chair, but instead of picking up the book, he leaned closer into Youngjae watching him and wondering what he went through in his past to make him so distressed.

He sighed and gently moved the hair off of the sleeping boy's face, smiling at him softly, and hoping that in the morning Youngjae would feel a lot better. 

~*~

The next morning Youngjae awoke to find Jaebeom asleep with his head resting on his arms on the bed and he smiled. He still felt a little bit off, but he certainly felt better than he had the night before.

He couldn't remember much of what happened due to the alcohol he had consumed, but he did remember requesting that Jaebeom stay with him for a short while, but there he was still right there by his side. 

Tentatively he reached over and gently placed his hand over Jaebeom's. It had been a very long time since he had felt this comfortable around someone.

Sighing he looked around the room then turned his attention back to Jaebeom looking into his face I'm studying the other man's features.

It was his turn to move the hair out from Jaebeom's face and Youngjae smiled as Jaebeom crinkled up his nose as the hair accidentally brushed past over it.

Suddenly he realised that Jaebeom was watching him and he quickly pulled his hand away, saying nothing.

"You're awake," Jaebeom began as he sat upright. He had seen Youngjae pull his hand away, but also chose to remain silent. he could see Youngjae hadn't meant for him to see it. "How are you feeling?"

"Like something big and hard hit me, hard," Youngjae replied attempting to sit up.

Jaebeom immediately sprang into action, assisting the young man into an upright position

"Thanks." Came Youngjae's grateful response in appreciation for Jaebeom's help.

"You sure, you're all right?" 

Youngjae could see that Jaebeom was still worried about his condition.

"I'm fine, not so boring boy," Youngjae snickered.

"Excuse me?" Jaebeom began looking at him with mock displeasure,  "that's 'not so boring boy', what?"

"Not so boring boy, hyung," Youngjae corrected himself

"I'm going to start giving you a hard time about this," Jaebeom waggled his finger at him

Youngjae smiled at Jaebeom's playfulness. He really reminded him of... he felt his heart skip a beat. No, he needed to not think about it. Not remember. Not get involved. Not to feel like he used to, that could never be allowed. He reigned his thoughts in and sighed, he was lonely, but couldn't afford to be anything but, and it didn't make it any better, that today was the day he dreaded the most 

"I think you should rest today, get your strength up and we can go to the Puppy cafe on Saturday," Jaebeom said. He just wanted to make sure Youngjae rested properly. Running about wouldn't help his recovery.

Youngjae pouted so hard that Jaebeom thought his face would fall off.

"Nooo, I really wanted to go today, please, hyuuunng," Youngjae begged him making puppy eyes and paws at him.

"Oh I see how it is, you use cute mode and add hyung when you want something. You're so precious," Jaebeom chuckled.

"Of course I am, that's why this ploy is going to work, and that's why you'll let me go," Youngjae said making a peace sign near his face and winking.

"Do I need to cuff you to that bed?" 

"Oh, you wanna go there do you?” Youngjae snorted in amusement as Jaebeom once again left himself wide open for attack. “Is there ice involved, I hear that's rather a sensual and erotic experience."

Jaebeom kept his composure, but he was dying inside and he could feel his face turning a deep shade of red, but he took a deep breath in and let it out.  "What puzzles me more than you're blatant flirting," Jaebeom folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, "is how you would even know about those sorts of things." 

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Youngjae smirked at him 

"What if I said yes?"

Youngjae laughed, he was actually surprised by Jaebeom's retort, "Well I wasn't expecting that."

"That was the whole point, drunken chicken boy," Jaebeom said as he sat back in the chair and folded his arms.

"Drunken chicken boy? Where the heck did that come from?" He laughed. 

Jaebeom took out his phone and brought up a picture. "This he said showing him a picture. 

"Ooh I look so cute,  I mean, come on, drunken chicken boy, is cute.  It's so sweet of you to give me a nickname too."

"Jackson gave it to you actually." Jaebeom chagrined

"I take everything I said back. I hate it."

Jaebeom laughed so hard as Youngjae suddenly denounced the name, he'd loved less than a minute ago. "I think it fits you perfectly. Drunken chicken boy."

"Oh yeah, not so boring boy. At least it's cuter than yours." Youngjae huffed and folded his arms, pouting again.

Jaebeom poked him on the arm, "You're sulking."

"I don't sulk, i..." Youngjae thought about that for a second, then folded his arms and pouted harder. "Nope, you're right," he admitted, "I am sulking." 

"Obviously," Jaebeom playfully retorted.

"Jaebeom, hyung, please, I need to go pat puppies, and I really need you to take a lot of pictures of me patting them, then, I want to spam the fuck out of Jackson with them. That's my one goal in life please, please help me fulfil my life long request." 

"Life long request my ass, more like you want to get back at him for something." Jaebeom gave him a knowing glance.

"Jaebeom you wound me! I mean, look at this face and then tell me that you disbelieve my innocence?"

"Not hard to do. I think the  handcuffs and ice conversation  earlier completely takes innocence out of the equation." 

“Hey, you brought up the handcuffs not me,” Youngjae reminded him.

“I didn't put the sexual connotations to it though, did I?”

"And I quote 'Do I have to cuff you to that bed?' Cuffing one to a bed leads to the assumption that you'd know what BDSM is, hyung." 

"You're rather cheeky, you know that, don't you?"

"Guilty as charged, hyung. So, now that I've confessed, there's a cafe I'd like to go to as a reward for my honesty."

Jaebeom looked at him and folded his arms.

"Do I detect a lecture coming on?"

"Right, here's the deal,"  Jaebeom began, looking at the time on his new watch. 

"Pegged it," Youngjae smirked.

I”ll peg you in a minute,”

“Promises, promises,” Youngjae winked.

“Does everything you say need to be dirty?” Jaebeom sighed

“It's only as dirty as your mind, hyung!” Youngjae wiggled his eyebrows and giving him a smile that oozed victory.

Jaebeom blushed, cleared his throat and continued, ignoring Youngjae as best he could. “So, the cafe opens at nine, but, it's only six am, you need to have at least another four hours sleep or rest, either one and then we'll see if your temperature drops down some more, then I'll look at taking you to the cafe. Okay?"

Youngjae quickly snuggled  under his bedding, giving  Jaebeom the cutest look he could muster. "Resting now.” He closed his eyes for effect, making Jaebeom chuckle in the process

"Good boy. Now I'm heading to bed, but I'm trusting you to behave.”

“Hyung, first you delve into BDSM with handcuffs, and now, you want me to be 'a good boy and behave for you'? There's your BDSM mind right there hyung.” 

“Sleep, you audacious little brat,” Jaebeom blushed again as he left the room post haste before Youngjae could get another word in.


	11. Chapter 11

Jaebeom managed to get another three hours sleep before waking up, showering and going in to check on Youngjae. 

The younger man was sleeping soundly and Jaebeom smiled as he watched him from the doorway of the bedroom before sneaking off quietly to get breakfast started. 

As he cooked his mind wandered and he began to wonder what Youngjae's favourite foods were, what kind of stuff he liked to do and what hobbies he had. 

He made a note to himself to ask at some point. But the thing that was on his mind the most was Min Sung. Who was he? What happened to him and why Youngjae was so distressed in his sleep?

Sighing and looking down at the frying pan in front of him, he realised he was almost about to burn the kimchi and cussing at himself under his breath, he shook his head.

That's what he got for being so preoccupied with his housemate.

By the time breakfast was ready, it was almost time to wake Youngjae up, so Jaebeom decided to give him his breakfast in bed. Arranging everything nicely on a tray including the thermometer, he poured Youngjae some juice and popped on some hangover sachets. He stood back and perused his tray presentation and then satisfied that it looked presentable, nodded to himself, picking up the tray and heading to Youngjae's room. 

Placing the tray on the desk, and grabbing the thermometer, Jaebeom walked over and gently felt his forehead. He felt cool enough, but Jaebeom wanted to be sure. “Youngjae,” Jaebeom began rubbing his back gently so as to wake him up without startling him. “Hey, precocious brat,” he chuckled lightly, “wake up, I have breakfast for you.

Youngjae slowly rolled onto his side and looked up into Jaebeom's warm, big, brown eyes. “Morning, again.”

“Morning,” Jaebeom said as he moved forward as if to help him“Can you sit up alright?”

“Yeah, I'm feeling much much better now,” Youngjae said pulling himself up and stretching.

“Open,” Jaebeom ordered and Youngjae didn't resist as Jaebeom popped the thermometer into his mouth.

Once it finally went off Jaebeom took it out and checked. “Thank god, back to normal.” He walked back over to the desk and picked up the tray and took it over to Youngjae, who's mouth watered when he saw what was on the tray. “You made all this? For me?”

“I figured after last night you could use a little bit of TLC,” Jaebeom shrugged as if it were nothing.

“TLC?”

“Hang on you know what BDSM is but not TLC?” He asked as he went retrieve the chair over from by the desk

Youngjae shook his head. “Never heard of it,”

“You're more than a little odd. It means....” Jaebeom stopped. “Never mind. If you don't know what it means, you can't come back at me with some smart ass remark.” It felt good having one up over Youngjae for a change.

“Tender loving care huh?” 

“What? I thought you didn't know what it meant?” Jaebeom said disappointed that his only one up on Youngjae was gone.

Youngjae pointed to his watch, “I just asked Jackson,” he said with a wide smirk. “But since you went to all this effort, I won't even attempt to find something dirty in that.”

“I appreciate that.”

“It's better than wanting to handcuff me to the bed at least,” came the quiet snicker.

“Youngjae!!”

“What? That wasn't dirty... it's the truth,” he said giggling away 

Jaebeom sighed, there was no winning with this one. “You... eat. I'm going for a shower.”

Youngjae looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Shut, up!” Jaebeom said looking back at him and pointing

“I never said a thing.” Youngjae shoved a pile of rice in his mouth.

“No, but, you were thinking it.” 

“Can't talk, eating,” Youngjae said grinning, his mouth full.

Jaebeom left the room shaking his head in amusement. If there was one thing he knew about Choi Youngjae, it was that his mind was dirtier than a dustbin.

-*-

Half an hour later Youngjae had finished his food. Jaebeom was a great cook and he wished he could ask him to teach Bambam. God knows that man needed lessons. He'd loved every bite from start to finish and was a little disappointed that there hadn't been more of it. Putting the tray to the side, he glanced down at his watch. He'd seen the message notification that Jackson had sent him re the warning about  Jaebeom's extended family making their move

Reading through the information Youngjae sighed, soon things could get a little complicated and that he didn't like. He was enjoying his time tormenting Jaebeom and didn't really want it to stop.

But he knew things would start to get serious soon and then so would he. 

Jaebeom knocked on the door frame, announcing himself as he re-entered Youngjae's room. "If you're done, go shower and get ready, we've got  puppy cafe to go to."

"Are you serious? Are we really going?" Youngjae sprang out of bed almost knocking the tray off, but luckily Jaebeom grabbed it before it had a chance to tip.

"Oops sorry," Youngjae apologised with a grin. "In a hurry, got a puppy cafe to attend," he finished as he grabbed his towel off the hook and hightailed it out the bedroom

"Slow down a little, you're going to do yourself an injury, and you could at least tell me how the food was," he yelled at him as he followed him out, just in time to see the bathroom door, shut.

Jaebeom continued to the kitchen put the tray down and seconds later he heard the bathroom door open again and the next thing he knew he had one Choi Youngjae hanging off him from behind.

"Let's get married, your cooking is the bomb," Youngjae said jokingly.

"Idiot," Jaebeom laughed, blushing profusely. "Go have your damn shower you, or no puppy cafe."

Youngjae squawked something inaudible as he released Jaebeom and dashed back to the bathroom.

Jaebeom filled the sink and started washing the dishes, smiling away to himself. He hadn't expected Youngjae to come running in and hug him like that. It kind of threw him and he sighed forlornly. He wasn't used to being close to someone like this but Youngjae's hug and had made him feel a little odd.

He gave a loud sigh and began to wonder if maybe he was allowing Youngjae to get a little too close to him. He couldn't afford to have people close to him and he began to wonder if maybe he shouldn't have brought Youngjae into this house. 

Not because he didn't like the young man, but because he was afraid that he might get hurt.

He'd been hiding from his extended family for so long, avoiding getting too close to people, and even though Mark was his best friend he very rarely hung out with he and Jinyoung either.

He'd quite enjoyed living the quiet life up until now, but he knew that would be over soon. He knew he would probably have to start running again, staying one step ahead of his extended family. He really didn't care about the money that he had, or what status his family held, but he'd be damned if he'd let his extended family get hold of anything; they didn't deserve it. He would rather donate it to charity rather than see it go to the likes of them. 

He felt bad because running meant he'd have to make up excuses as to why he was leaving and he didn't like not letting his friends know that he was going. 

The only thing they didn't need to know was what was going on. He didn't want to endanger them, but here he was in the house with Youngjae and he felt awful because he really liked Youngjae and didn't want him to get hurt. 

Maybe after puppy cafe they could sit down and talk. He'd let him know that he'd be leaving soon and that he could stay in the house. There'd be no issue there, it belonged to him anyway.  

Jaebeom sighed deeply as he realised just how fond he'd become of the mischievous little brat. It had been such a long time since he'd smiled that much, or even blushed that much and it took a hell of a lot to make him blush, but Youngjae seemed to do that every single day.

Shaking the thoughts from his head Jaebeom laughed to himself wondering when it was that he'd started to feel this way. It had only been a couple of days since he'd met Youngjae, but he had to admit it had been kind of fun. 

He stood there wishing he could just stay in one place and relax maybe find that special someone and settle down without having to up and leave every time his extended family located him. 

Unless he was dead they couldn't take a hold of his family fortune, and Jaebeom knew that better than anyone. He'd once gone to the police for help but had been told there was nothing they could do unless something had actually happened, they'd made note of it and that was it.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been standing there thinking until Youngjae appeared in front of him a questioning look on his face. “I'm fine, just thinking,” he said, gently tapping the younger man on the nose.

“About?”

“It's nothing I just have a lot on my mind.” He perked up for Youngjae's benefit and gave him a reassuring smile. “Right, have you got everything you need for today, we're not just going to the puppy cafe we're also going somewhere else.”

“Ooh, where?”

“Not telling you it's a surprise but we're going there first. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” Youngjae began quite happily. “as long as I get to the puppy cafe sometime today, I'm happy to follow you everywhere.”

“You sure you're not a puppy in disguise? Because that's what you sound like right now? Should I get you a collar and lead.”

“Ahh there you go again hyung, your BDSM is certainly on par this early in the morning,” Youngjae smirked.

“Yep,” Jaebeom chuckled, “as dirty as a dustbin.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Youngjae pouted.

“Your mind, Choi Youngjae, your mind.”

“I'll have you know back where I'm from I'm a genius thank you very much. And, I have a degree to prove it.”

“A degree in what? Dirty dustbin mind mastery?” Jaebeom laughed at he sour looked on Youngjae's face and he ruffled his hair, “Come on let's get out of here we have all day to do anything you want.” 

“Anything I want? Really?” Youngjae was excited now, it wasn't often he got told to do whatever he wanted, not that it mattered he usually did just that anyway.

“Yeah, after the surprise I have for you and the puppy cafe, the day is yours.” Jaebeom grinned.

Youngjae took a deep breath and sighed it out. “Today is going to be the best day ever.” He grabbed Jaebeom by the hand and dragged him out of the house making sure to lock the door on the way out.

Jaebeom shook his head and contemplated not running, because not running would mean he would be able to stay here.

The thought of not running scared him, but the thought of leaving Youngjae behind seemed to make him feel worse.

It was very clear to Jaebeom now how he felt about the crazy young man in front of him. 

And as much as he fought it, he couldn't deny it.

He knew he was falling in love.


	12. Chapter 12

Jaebeom drove his car this far out of town, for the first time in a while, it was quicker than having to take public transport and they could fit more into the day this way.

Youngjae was super excited and he was trying to figure out where Jaebeom was taking him. Jaebeom kept silent, giving no hints to him whatsoever.

Finally, they came to what looked like a huge carnival and Youngjae's eyes widened. “Is this it? Are we here? Are we, are we, are we?” 

“We sure are,” Jaebeom said as he parked the car. 

Had the window been open Jaebeom was sure that Youngjae would have jumped out of it, had he had the chance.

“I've always wanted to come to a theme park but was never able to. I may be a little excited,” he said as he bolted out of the car and around to Jaebeom's side literally pulling him out of the car.

Jaebeom laughed as he locked the car, Youngjae had hold of his arm while he was doing so and was dragging him away at the same time

“I'm so excited!” Younjgae continued to drag Jaebeom around to the front of the carnival and then he stopped dead in his tracks. “Um, Jaebeom, hyung, there's no one here.”

“I see people, Jaebeom smiled as he watched Youngjae scouring the area.

“Um, where?”

Jaebeom turned Youngjae around to face him. “Us, Youngjae, we're here.”

“You mean, we have the whole park to ourselves? All of it?” He asked.

“All of it, this is for you, Youngjae.”

“Wait, but, how? I mean, Jaebeom hyung. I don't understand. I didn't do anything to deserve this.”

“You might not think you did, but bringing me back my smile, my old smile, right now is something.”

“I don't get it?" Youngjae's face drew a blank.

“Let's just say I haven't laughed, smiled or blushed as I have around you the past few days, for a very long time.” 

Youngjae stood quietly. He was surprised, to say the least, that Jaebeom, despite the fact that he had truly given him such a hard time had appreciated it and not hated it.

“I um.”

“Seriously,” Jaebeom began with a chuckle, “can't believe, you, of all people are lost for words.”

Youngjae looked up at him with a small smile and sighed, “It's kind of been a long time since someone has made me feel this wanted.” 

Jaebeom looked over at him, his face was turned away slightly and Jaebeom walked up to him, Youngjae turned away again. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Jaebeom heard a sniffle and he grabbed Youngjae and turned him to face him. “What's wrong, this isn't like you?” he said wiping the tears from Youngjae's face with his sleeve a worried look over his face. “Is it too much? If it is I...”

“No hyung, no, it's wonderful, really. It's just that today kind of feels a little bittersweet for me,” Youngjae sighed.

“Come on let's go grab a drink and sit for a while, we have half the day here so no rush. You can talk about it if you want. I'll listen.”

Youngjae's first instinct was to say he would be fine, but something about Jaebeom made him feel like he could trust him with his emotions and so he nodded allowing Jaebeom to wrap his arm around his shoulder as they headed into the Park together.

~*~

“JACKSOOOONNN.... where are you?” 

“Jackson came running from around the corner of the lunchroom at Bambam's panicked voice.

“What, what is it?” 

“We've miscalculated, they'll be close to him within 24hours.”

“How the hell did we miscalculate? I'll get a hold of Youngjae. Get me all the information I need and hurry! Yugyeom?”

“Yeah?”

“Let the boss know things are moving way faster than we thought, find out if we can get someone down there to cause havoc to delay them for a day, Youngjae won't be thinking straight for at least that long due to the circumstances he's facing today, we can at least give him that much!”

“Why the heck don't we just stop them permanently ourselves, take them out hit them with a stick or something?” 

“Can't interfere by putting our presence verbally or physically out there, that's why Youngjae is down there and visible, remember. He interfered, so he's learning the hard way, and he still has to be invisible when he's in official Guardian mode. We're limited in what we can do, but Youngjae's job is to keep Jaebeom safe until something happens to stop these sleazy jerks lawfully. We can only do so much, you'll learn new kid!”

“And what we do is lawful? ”

“As long as no one gets killed, bad guy or not. Now just go do it!”

“Yes sir,” Yugyeom said heading off.

~*~

Once inside the park Jaebeom grabbed them some drinks from a cafe Jaebeom had chosen to have open for the time they were there.

He handed a hot chocolate to Youngjae and sat down close to him and broached the subject carefully.

“Youngjae, if you want to talk about things it's fine, but if you don't, that's also fine,” Jaebeom offered him a way out. “But there's something I wanted to ask you, about last night, it was when you were really sick and feverish. You don't have to answer if you don't feel like, but you were really distressed in your sleep and you were calling out for someone, warning them to watch out.”

Youngjae sighed and nodded. “Min Sung,” he said quietly.

“Yeah, that's the name I heard. Is it okay if I ask who he was? If not it's..”

“No, it's fine, hyung, you've been more than wonderful putting up with me the way you have.”

“Putting up with you, if I were just putting up with you, I wouldn't be being this nice to you.It's fun having your crazy ass around.”

"I'm lucky then." Youngjae smiled a little and sighed. “So Min Sung, Min Sung was someone I cherished, he was my friend, and my partner. My life partner,” Youngjae corrected.

“Your life partner? You mean, you two were...?”

“Yes, we were. We were engaged one day and then the next he was gone.

“I'm so sorry Youngjae. I really am.” Jaebeom leaned forward and rubbed his arm. “I know there's nothing I can say that will make things better, but if it helps, whenever you need to talk about him, I'm here for you.”

“You have no idea how much you have helped me. It's been four years since then, and I wondered if there would come a day when I could talk about him like this again. Then I got dragged into your life and you treated me just as kindly as he did the first time I met him, and here I am just opening right up to you.”

“I'm honoured, and I'd love to hear more about him too. If he mattered to you, then he matters to me. But one more question, why did you say today was a bittersweet day for you?”

Youngjae gave a small sad smile and looked into Jaebeom's eyes. “I found out the day he died that he'd planned to take me to a theme park similar to this, so when you said this was for me, it brought everything flooding back. The reason I loved him, the reason why it hurt so much when he died and the reason why I felt so guilty about his death.”

Jaebeom moved closer and placed his arm around Youngjae's shoulder again. “I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to bring up those memories. 

“It really isn't your fault, I need to let him go, it's just been so hard. I've never had a reason to. Also, I need to come clean with you too. The reason I got so drunk was to make my self that ill because it's what I do to try and forget every year on the eve of the anniversary of his death.”

“It's today?” 

“Mm, yeah another reason why all this is so bittersweet.” Youngjae sighed.

“I don't know what to say, Youngjae. If I had known...”

“No, it really is fine, you've helped me to talk about him. No one else has ever managed to do that. I feel just as comfortable around you, as I did him.”

“I'm glad I can make you feel like that. That makes me happy.”

“Me too and I'm really glad you brought me here, I might be able to lay his ghost to rest today. I think it's time.”

“Well,” Jaebeom began with a smile, “How about we celebrate his life today, not mourn his death. I'm pretty sure if he loved you as much as I think he did, he'd be wanting you to live life for the both of you, not make yourself ill trying to forget for even one day." 

“Hyung...” 

Youngjae's face lit up again and Jaebeom held out his hand to him. 

“Come on, you, let's go celebrate. Today is Min Sung day.”

Youngjae took Jaebeom's hand firmly and smiled as he was pulled up from his chair.

Celebrating 'Min Sung' day. 

That sounded like fun.


	13. Chapter 13

Jaebeom dragged Youngjae around the theme park, ride by ride, game by game. And Youngjae couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this free. As they came to the end of their time there and began to head out Youngjae spotted the carousel. 

"Hyung, can we ride this before we leave?  Min Sung used to say carousels were his favourite, especially when he was younger."

"Of course we can! I think that would be a fantastic way to honour him." Jaebeom was quite happy to accommodate Youngjae especially for the sake of finally being able to let Min Sung go.

"Thank you, hyung." Youngjae headed to the carousel, picked a horse and got on.

Jaebeom, following behind him, got on the horse next to him and waved for the guy manning the ride to start it. As the carousel went around, Jaebeom noticed Youngjae's eyes close and a wide smile appeared across his face and seeing it, it made Jaebeom smile somewhat in the same way.

After the ride had finished Youngjae sat there for a few seconds, his head resting against the pole, before getting down from his horse. 

Jaebeom walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and Youngjae sighed. “You alright?”

Youngjae nodded. “I think I need to do one more thing, hyung.” 

Nodding his understanding, Jaebeom stood quietly beside Youngjae giving him time to deal with his emotions.

Youngjae placed his hand on the horses back and looked upwards. “Thank you, Min Sung, for everything. I loved you with all that I am, but it's time we both moved on.”

A few seconds later Youngjae sighed and turned to Jaebeom, his eyes fighting back the tears and Jaebeom did the only thing he felt he could and opened his arms, offering Youngjae the option of coming to him for comfort.

Youngjae looked at him and Jaebeom smiled softly. “If you want too it's fine, if not, well, you know how it goes.”

Youngjae stood contemplating if he should or shouldn't. He'd never accepted affection from anyone but Min Sung and even though he'd joked around and felt how he wanted and did what he wanted, he was now uncertain, but as he looked into Jaebeom's eyes he could see in Jaebeom's face, that the older man was allowing him to fully take control of the situation.

Before Youngjae knew it his feet had started moving and he was there, in the warmth of Jaebeom's arms, being held tightly, sobbing uncontrollably, Jaebeom whispering that it was okay to let go, that Min Sung would want him to after all this time, and for him to take as long as he needed. 

There was no rush.

Youngjae was grateful that he didn't have to bear the burden of putting Min Sung to rest alone, his heart ached so badly, but he knew that it had been the right thing to do and without Jaebeom, he may not have ever come this far.

It was several more minutes before Youngjae managed to regain some of his composure, gently pulling himself from the comfort of Jaebeom's arms.

Jaebeom wiped the rest of Youngjae's tears away and sighed. His own heart ached to see him so heartbroken, but Youngjae sensed this and his next few words made Jaebeom chuckle.

“Let's go pat some puppies. I need to piss Jackass off!

~*~

Jackson rubbed his ears and shook his head and Bambam gave him an odd look. “What's wrong?”

“My ears are burning, I'm betting Youngjae's cussing me somewhere out there.” He said with a grimace.

“No doubt.” Bambam agreed as he filed some papers away in his cabinet. “Oh, did you hear back from the boss?”

“Yeah, he's agreed just this once, to do whatever we need within reason, to keep the family away from them for the next twenty-four hours. I've sent Youngjae messages, but of course, he hasn't responded.”

“And he probably won't, until the morning,” Bambam added as he dropped a bundle of paperwork onto Jackson's desk.

“What's this for?” Jackson asked looking at the pile of papers.

“Wreckage forms that you need to sign. “

“Right, so, what did Yugyeom break this time a car, a truck?” Jackson gave a grunt, the new kid was killing him with paperwork, luckily all mild and not as troublesome as some of Youngjae's hi-jinks.

“It's all in the paperwork,” Bambam grinned as he headed off to the printing room.

Jackson sighed and started going through the first form and he snorted, by the time he got to the fifth form, he had his head in his hands Finally reaching the last form, he got out of his chair with a face like thunder and looked around the office, and not seeing the darn little runt anywhere, he took a deep breath in. “KIM YUGYEOM! YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT! I AM SERIOUSLY GOING TO KILL YOU!!!”

From the printing office, Bambam smiled, his amusement showing in the form of a very smug look over his face as he peered down by the wall side of the printer.

“Told you not to use explosives.”

~*~

Finally, they arrived at the puppy cafe and Youngjae hopped out of the car first, waiting for Jaebeom to lock up. 

Jaebeom noted that Youngjae had been very calm since they'd left the theme park and he wondered if he really was okay. Being mindful he walked a few steps behind the younger man so as not to overcrowd him.

As if reading Jaebeom's mind, Youngjae stopped and turned to face him, “Seriously, boring boy, I didn't go through all that earlier just for you to feel like you have to take it easy around me. If I wanted you to leave me alone, I would have gotten you to take me back home so I could hide in my room,” he said with an air of cheek. “Now hurry up would you, or the puppies will be dogs by the time 'we' get there!”

Jaebeom smiled and a light laugh left his lips as he moved up to walk beside Youngjae again as they headed into the cafe.

The first sight that met there eyes was puppies, lots of puppies and Youngjae's eyes lit up like Christmas lights.

“Oh my god! Jaebeom, look at them all!” Youngjae said excitedly as seven of them pounced at his feet.

“Well, look at that drunken chicken boy, you've actually made some friends.” Jaebeom grinned as he headed towards a table and sat down.

“Pfft, just because 'I'm' your only friend, boring boy,” Youngjae said in jest right back at him.

Jaebeom chortled and raised an eyebrow as he replied, “You wish, drunken chicken boy. I have plenty of friends. I just don't get out much.”

Youngjae finally pulled out a real smile, a really big real smile, and for Jaebeom it was a huge sense of relief and as he watched Youngjae interact with the puppies and saw just how much love and affection he showed for each and everyone, it really did warm his heart to see just how happy this was making him. 

But as much as it warmed his heart, Jaebeom felt embarrassed. 

It was making him slightly jealous too.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I wrote this on and off while I was out tonight. Had to give you guys something didn't want you to have to wait until tomorrow after all <3

Youngjae rolled about on the ground with the puppies and Jaebeom just assumed that after what he'd been through earlier, that his adulting quota for the day was well and truly done with. 

He also couldn't help thinking that the scene before his eyes was one of the cutest he'd seen in a while and he contemplated joining him on the floor until the waitress came over and asked him for his order. 

"Youngjae, did you want anything!"

"A puppy?"

"No."

"Is that a definite answer?" Youngjae said with a grin.

"Yes. Now, what would you like to eat and drink?" He leaned down and handed Youngjae the menu.

"Thanks." Youngjae smiled as he took the menu and looked through it. "Hm, the chicken and bacon burger and a cola please." He handed Jaebeom back the menu and continued playing with the little bundles of fluff surrounding him.

"And I'll have the same thanks." Jaebeom smiled at the waitress as he handed the menus back 

"So that's two chicken burgers and two colas. Just to let you know the burgers do come with fries."

"That"s great, thanks." Jaebeom turned his attention back to Youngjae with the puppies as the waitress walked away.

After a few minutes one of the more quieter puppies a small fluffy white one who had been extremely standoffish since they had first come in, began to slowly wander towards Youngjae and the other puppies.

It stopped a few feet away and sat staring at the big blob rolling about with its friends.

After another few minutes, it was still intently staring at Youngjae and it caught his eye. He stopped rolling around, lay over onto his stomach and smiled at the little white ball of fluff while letting the other puppies crawl all over him.

The white fluffy puppy got up and slowly started moving towards him again 

Jaebeom watched intently as the puppy got closer to Youngjae, sat down a few centimetres away from him cocking it's head again and he grabbed his phone out of his pocket.

Slowly Youngjae reached his hand out, laying it out flat In front of the puppy and the puppy leaned in, sniffing it, before looking back up at the big blob.

Chuckling lightly Youngjae wiggled his fingers, surprising the puppy and it got up, backed away and then jumped forward ruffing at the wiggling objects before him.

Youngjae laughed, repeating the same gesture and the puppy continued ruffing, jumping about back and forth each time Youngjae did it. Quiet laughter could be heard coming from behind him and Youngjae turned to see Jaebeom with his phone taking photos.

“Come have a selfie with us hyung.” 

“No, it's fine. And besides these are for you to send to Jackson.”

“Come on hyung," Youngjae said as he grabbed Jaebeom's jeans by the bottoms and started pulling on them playfully, then suddenly the little white fluff ball was pulling on them too and the two young men looked at each other and then laughed.

“See, hyung? Even the puppy wants you to have a selfie with us, and how can you resist this little face? Just look at it.” Youngjae gently picked it up and began hugging it.

Jaebeom sighed, how could he resist Youngjae's cuteness even if his attention was on a bunch of puppies and not him. Giving in without another word, he got on the floor and sat down next to Youngjae, and immediately the two of them were swamped by the other puppies. 

The little white fluff ball, however, took it upon itself to crawl over the two young men splaying itself over both their legs and lay there quietly as Jaebeom took quite a few pictures.

They sat there for some time playing with the puppies until the waitress came over with their food, placing it on their table.

“Oh wow,” she began, the surprise in her voice evident, “how did you get her to like you so quickly. She's been here for three days and hasn't even approached anybody.”

“She? Doesn't she have a name?” Youngjae asked.

“No, not yet.”

“What about the other puppies?” 

“Yeah, they all have their names," the waitress told him, "but because she hasn't even come near anyone, we haven't figured out what to call her.

Jaebeom saw Youngjae's eyes light up and he was pretty sure he knew what was about to come.

“Do you think I could name her?” 

“I'll go ask the manager, I don't think it should be a problem,” the waitress said heading off again.

“I'm just going to go wash my hands,” Jaebeom informed him.

“Sure, hyung, I'll go do mine when you get back.” He watched Jaebeom head off and then turned his attention back towards the little white ball of fluff. The other puppies had now seemed to lose interest as a few other people came into the cafe, but this little puppy refused to follow and stayed firmly by Youngjae's side.

The waitress came back a few minutes later, with their drinks. “The manager's just on a call at the moment but I'll ask him as soon as he's done.”

“Sure thanks, Youngjae said as he gave the puppy another hug, the puppy licking his face enthusiastically.

Jaebeom came back and sat down at the table. “Your turn Youngjae.

“Okay.” He looked at the puppy and gave her a stern look. “You stay here okay? You can't come where I'm going.”

The puppy sat down and as Youngjae walked away it whined a little.

“Don't worry, he'll be back, little one,” Jaebeom said reassuringly. “But you mind if I have some of his attention too?” He asked with a soft smile and to his surprise, the puppy gave him a soft bark in response and Jaebeom chuckled. “I hope that was a yes?” he grinned.

Youngjae came back and sat down just as the waitress finally came back again.

“So, she's yours to name. Boss said it's fine.”

“Coco.” Youngjae smiled softly at the puppy. “Her name will be Coco.”


	15. Chapter 15

Jackson had finally located Yugyeom and dragged him by his ear down to the presentation room, opened the door took him to a seat and shoved him into it.

Bambam followed behind with Jackson's laptop, placed it on the table in front of Yugyeom and opened it, turning it on.

"I said I was sorry. I thought it would be okay if I just used a few."

"Are you Youngjae's clone or something? Just because he trained you, doesn't mean you need to follow in his exact footsteps. Didn't Bambam tell you not to use explosives?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Don't give me buts, Youngjae gives me buts. You, however, I don't need to hear buts from. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, now, you can suffer through the video I put together for you. There are thirty-five minutes of it and afterwards, there's an answer sheet you need to fill in. I don't want answers like 'the puppies made me do it' or 'the guy needed some cheering up' rubbish. Those are unacceptable Youngjae answers. I expect good results from you Kim Yugyeom. Understood?

“Yes sir, x two.”

Jackson thwapped him upside the head. “Any answer with x two on the end is also a Youngjae answer. Anything other than a straight answer is a Youngjae answer. Now we'll leave you to it. The camera is on in this room, by the way, so we'll know if you're slacking off. You can start once we've left.” Jackson nodded at Bambam and the two of them left the room.

Yugyeom sighed with frustration and smacked his head down on the desk. 

He really should have listened to Bambam after all.

~*~

After lunch the boys stayed for a couple of more hours playing with the puppies, Coco mostly as the others had either fallen asleep or hung around other people. 

Not Coco though. 

Coco had stayed the whole time with Youngjae and Jaebeom, not leaving their side, sleeping beneath their feet while they ate their lunch and relaxed.

Not once did she bother about other people coming in and if they came over to her she decided that under Youngjae's legs was where she was the safest, even though the awful blob had picked her up for others to pat, she still chose to stay right where she was.

The manager had come out and joked with them saying Youngjae should just take the antisocial misfit home, and if Jaebeom hadn't stopped it there Youngjae would have happily done so.

It was hard dragging the two away from each other and as the two boys had left, Coco had followed them to the door and then down by the window corner until they couldn't see each other any more.

Jaebeom practically had to drag Youngjae back to the car, but at least he was smiling so much more now and that gave Jaebeom comfort, at least he knew Youngjae wasn't doing to bad, but then again, it may have just been another way of his coping with saying goodbye to Min Sung.

As they got into the car Jaebeom noted that just after Youngjar had checked his watch, he seemed to be contemplating something very deeply, and Jaebeom wondered if maybe this had been around the time that his partner had died, so he waited a few more minutes before speaking.

“So Youngjae, where would you like to go now? I promised you after this it was your time. 

“Hm?” Youngjae began thinking. “Let's go to the best restaurant in town, my shout.”

“The best? Youngjae that's a really expensive place, are you sure?” Jaebeom asked him a little concerned as to the cost.

“My time, my choice, let's go,” Youngjae threw Jaebeom a smile that caught him off guard. 

“S, sure.” Jaebeom thought he might choke on his words if he didn't concentrate harder. The more time he spent with Youngjae, the more he found it harder to not want to tell him how he was feeling, but he couldn't, he knew it, not with what was about to happen, that would be selfish, but he wanted to so very much and his heart ached at the thought of it. 

Half an hour later they arrived at the restaurant and headed inside.

They waited for someone to attend them and Youngjae smiled when an older man approached them.

“Table for two, sir?” The older man asked grabbing menus from the side counter.

“The best you have,” Youngjae said with an air of dignity about him that surprised Jaebeom.

“Right this way sir,” The older man said as he led them to a table nearest the window.

Youngjae stopped Jaebeom from sitting, walked around to his side of the table, pulling the chair out for him, motioned for him to sit and then pushed the chair in for him, before sitting down himself.

Jaebeom looked at him a little oddly and Youngjae gave him a wink, throwing Jaebeom's poor heart into a fit of palpitations.

“Your menus gentlemen.” The older man handed both the boys one each. “Could I interest you in a bottle of our finest wine? A nineteen sixty-three,”

“No, thank you,” Youngjae said stopping the man mid-sentence. “I'm afraid I can't drink, and my friend here is driving.”

“Very good sir, Someone will be along shortly to take your order, in the meantime, I will have some water and the appropriate glasses sent over to you.”

“Thank you.” Youngjae gave a curt nod as the older gentleman removed the wine glasses and headed off. Looking over at Jaebeom he could see that he was feeling a little uncomfortable. “Stop worrying about the expense, how often do you get to come to a place like this?”

“Never.”

“Exactly, I'm paying, so just take a deep breath in and relax.” Youngjae encouraged reaching over and placing his hand over Jaebeom's.

Jaebeom laughed inwardly, how could he relax, he felt like Youngjae was something akin to a sugar daddy right now and that he was his toy boy, not that he would have any complaints if he was, it was just that this whole thing made it hard for him to relax, but he took a deep breath in for Youngjae's sake and sighed it out.

“Better?”

“Yeah actually.” Jaebeom had to admit, it did help a little.

“Go through the menu, pick the most expensive thing you want, No complaints or arguments, my time, my choice!” He repeated again.

Jaebeom laughed a little and nodded doing as Youngjae had instructed.

It must have been only five minutes later before the water arrived followed by the waitress.

“Good evening, I'm Kim Shin Yoo, I'll be your waitress tonight. Are you ready to place your order?”

“I certainly am. I'll have the five hundred gram Fillet Minion with seasonal vegetables please,” Youngjae said smiling over at Jaebeom.

“Yeah, me too.” Jaebeom grinned.

“Two of those, any other sides or starters?”

“No thank you,” Jaebeom declined politely.

“Same, thank you,” Youngjae also politely declined.

“Very well, I'll just take your menus, and it will be about half an hour.” She informed them.

“Thank you.” Both boys echoed together as she left.

Youngjae leaned in towards Jaebeom and whispered. “Is it me or do we just seem to like the same kinds of food?” 

“No, I think we do actually.” Jaebeom chuckled.

“Makes it easier on these poor plebs I think.” Youngjae smirked.

“That's a little mean, calling them plebs,” Jaebeom said shaking his head a smile on his face.

“Would you rather I call you a pleb?” Youngjae grinned.

“I'd slap you hard, for them and for me, you cheeky little,"

“Ohh there it is again, I'll buy you a paddle.” Youngjae's smirk was very obvious.

“Choi Youngjae, not here.” 

“I'm not an exhibitionist hyung. It would have to wait until we got home, and besides, it's too late to buy you a paddle tonight.”

“Oh my god, Youngjae, stop it!” Jaebeom's face exploded with colour, but now he knew for certain that the cheeky little asshat was feeling like his usual self again.

Youngjae suddenly burst into laughter and Jaebeom wanted to crawl so far underneath the table that it wasn't funny.

“You're terrible," Jaebeom whispered as he covered his bright red face with his hands.

“You love it!”

“Shut up.”

“Not denying it are we?”

“Youngjae!!”

“What?” Youngjae blinked innocently.

Jaebeom sighed as he pulled what little composure that he had left into the fore. “You are so incorrigible.”

“Jackson says the same thing, quite a lot actually.”

“For some strange reason, Choi Youngjae,” Jaebeom laughed, his embarrassment still extremely obvious.

“I am really not surprised.”


	16. Chapter 16

After they devoured their deliciously expensive meal, both of the boys sat back and just stared out the window.

Jaebeom wondered why Youngjae had decided to ask for the best table in the restaurant. They looked no different to the others until suddenly lights came on outside the window lighting up a beautiful garden display of some of the most exquisite plants Jaebeom had ever seen.

And in the corner was a small waterfall feature and it took him a few seconds to realise there were birds sitting up on perches and he wondered how Youngjae knew this place had 'best tables'.

Jaebeom looked over at Youngjae who seemed to be thoroughly immersed in looking at them. watching Youngjae's face carefully, he noticed how the younger man seemed to be so very much at peace looking at the flora before him, and so different to how he'd been all throughout the few days he'd known him and it set Jaebeom to wondering just how many more sides this young man had to him.

Although he did have his suspicions of one side and he wanted to ask him, but also didn't want to sound like an idiot if he were wrong.

The incident with his temperature made him think back to when his parents were still alive.

Some guy he didn't recognise was brought to his parents place not long before they had died. 

Absolutely stinking drunk and not looking so good, his parents had found the man in the street lying in the rain, semi-conscious and burning up with an incredible fever.

He had a gash on his forehead and his mother had wanted to call for her personal doctor to come and see to the man, but he had begged her not too.

So she had tended the wound herself and then asked Jaebeom to continue to watch over him until he was resting peacefully.

Before Jaebeom had realised, the man had fallen asleep, but it wasn't long before he was restless and talking in his sleep about Guardian codes and protecting his case.

Jaebeom had gone to bed not long after only to find the man had gone in the morning.

His mother had later told him his temperature had been around one hundred and thirty-three and that friends had come to pick him up to take him to his own doctor.

Jaebeom had thought it was rather odd back then, but at the time brushed it off and forgotten about it, until now. 

The similarities between the two were too close to ignore.

Both had been drinking, Youngjae's refusal to open his mouth at first, the pointless attempt to hide the thermometer, his ridiculously high temperature, that would kill any normal person and his unwillingness to be taken to a hospital.

Was it possible that Youngjae knew these Guardians and their guardian codes, and what they did? 

It wasn't the first time he had experienced weird happenings recently, back then strange things kept things happened too. Except it was more like things falling over on their own like before when he was being pestered by the bulky moody idiot at work.

This time he had heard someone speaking to him. He thought back to the roulette wheel and the light that fell and he suddenly realised something it had been the same voice both times.

“Youngjae?” Jaebeom began in a whisper.

“Hm?”

“What do you think of the birds? Aren't they beautiful?” 

“Why on earth are you whispering? They're behind the glass.” Youngjae chuckled at him.

Jaebeom gave him a sheepish look and shrugged, not quite knowing what to say. He'd played the scenes at the casino over in his mind more than once; that voice, that whisper, he was sure it was Youngjae's, but he'd wanted to know for certain, and that plan had failed

He'd need another.

“And you say I'm odd?”

“well you are,” Jaebeom grinned

“Yes, but that's natural for me, not so much for you. Come on out with it, what's up?”

“Huh?” 

“You heard me. The cogs in your head are burning up the atmosphere. I can hear them whirring so hard and you've been staring at me for so long, that I already know this has to be about me. Just say what you need to say.”

“I'd rather not discuss it here,” Jaebeom said looking around the room.

Youngjae nodded. “Okay, let's go find somewhere quiet, but with a great view. And preferably outside. I hate discussing stuff in small, dark and cramped places with no windows.”

“Anything else you'd like?” Jaebeom asked with a small laugh.

“Oh there definitely is, but that would be telling, and I'm not ready to, not just yet.” 

“I swear, Choi Youngjae,” Jaebeom began, “the gutter isn't anywhere near big enough for your mind.”

“Glad you noticed!” Youngjae smirked.

Jaebeom laughed. Youngjae certainly was great company, even with all his crazy talk and his playful attitude, Jaebeom had never met anyone quite like him, and he loved the fact that Youngjae came across as a little bit more unique than the norm.

Getting his wallet out Youngjae looked back at Jaebeom and smiled. “I expect you to find an awesome place for us to talk now, you know that don't you?”

“I figured you'd say something like that, but I'm way ahead of you, clever clogs. I have just the place in mind.”

“Does it involve handcuffs and …?” 

Jaebeom quickly shoved his hand over Youngjae's mouth, walking him over to the counter and then letting him go.

Youngjae's face lit up as he once again saw Jaebeom's embarrassment. If he didn't react so much Youngjae wouldn't be so inclined to tease him, but Jaebeom always reacted and Youngjae loved it. 

Every second.

“Our bill good sir,” Youngjae requested.

“That will be two hundred and fifty thousand won please, sir.”

Jaebeom almost fell over as Youngjae quite happily handed it over without even a care ad as thanks were exchanged, they headed out of the restaurant.

As they got into the car and drove off Jaebeom looked over at Youngjae still happily smiling away.

“Youngjae, are you sure you don't want me to pay you some of that back?” 

“Don't you think you're worth one hundred and twenty-five thousand won?” Youngjae counter questioned.

“Huh, what does that even mean?” Jaebeom asked just as confused as he had been a few seconds ago.

“Think about it.”

Jaebeom looked at him a little puzzled but did as Youngjae had asked.

“Actually.” Jaebeom said thinking about it harder, “I'd like to think I'm much worth more than a steak or two.”

“Exactly, so why do you think you need to pay me back then? Obviously, I think you're worth way more than a couple of steaks, otherwise, why would I bother buying you dinner there in the first place?”

Jaebeom glanced over at him and shook his head smiling. “Well, I appreciate that and I appreciate you brought me such great food. Thank you.”

“My pleasure,”

“You wish.” Jaebeom threw at him grinning

“Oh a second comeback from the sidelines, you're almost 'non-boring boy' now,” Youngjae smirked.

“Glad I meet your approval, then.” Jaebeom guffawed.

“You should be, I don't just torment anyone you know,” Youngjae said straight-faced

“Oh really?” 

“Na, just kidding. I torment everyone, just not in the way I torment you. That's more fun.”

“Are you saying I'm easy?”

“Are you easy?”

“Youngjae!!!!?” Jaebeom's face washed over red again. He'd lost count of how many times the past few days he'd been red-faced and embarrassed and he tried hard to concentrate on his destination

“Well, you would bite.”

“I'll bi...” Jaebeom rethought his words before speaking this time. He wasn't going to allow this mischievous imp to catch him off guard this time. “I'll kick your ass in a second!”

“Almost,” Youngjae said grinning at him mischievously

“Why do you do that so much?”

“What torment your ass?”

“Yes, why?”

“Because you're fun to be around and it just kind of comes to me naturally when I'm around you. I find it relaxing.”

“That's nice for you, but how do you think it makes me feel?”

“You love it.” Youngjae put his hands behind his head and grinned.

“We've been through this,” Jaebeom said sighing.

“And you're still not denying it.”

“Would you shut up?” Jaebeom said straight-faced.

“So you're saying I'm not funny?” Youngjae pouted.

“No that's not what I'm saying.” Jaebeom chuckled.

“So you do think I'm funny?” Youngjae's face lit up.

“I'm not saying that either,” Jaebeom said as he pulled the car to a stop.

“You're a hard one to please aren't you?”

“Remember who's hyung here?”

“Why have we stopped... hyung?”

“Because we're here... Youngjae.”

“Oh.” Youngjae much to Jaebeom's relief remained quiet as they both climbed out of the car.

“This way.” Jaebeom headed up to a set of stairs and started to climb them.

Youngjae followed him up and as Jaebeom got to the top and moved out of the way, Youngjae got the surprise of his life. He was in awe, never before had he ever seen a sight like this. Not that he'd ever had the chance to stop and look at at least. 

Guardian assignments were full of high up places, but you never had the time to just sit and look, because you were too busy running or climbing to keep up with the person you were looking out for.

They could see out so far from up here, and it was so quiet and peaceful that Youngjae closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. “I didn't think you'd disappoint me. This place is amazing.” 

The lights from below were so beautiful and Jaebeom once again saw the look that Youngjae had on his face. It had been similar to the one where he'd been looking at the plants and birds back at the restaurant.

“So,” Youngjae began softly turning to look at Jaebeom, “what is it you need to talk to me about?”

Jaebeom looked back at him and took a big, deep breath in and just let it roll off his tongue

“Youngjae, what's the Guardian code?”


	17. Chapter 17

"Youngjae, what's the Guardian code?" 

Youngjae sighed and leant on the railing in front of him. "Where'd you hear that?"

"Back when I was younger before everything in my life went crazy. There was this guy, totally drunk, and my parents picked him up from out of the rain and brought him home. Long story short he had a temperature like yours last night, also refused treatment, and just like you was a little delirious. It just came out in the same way Sung Min's name did last night."

"I see."

"I know I said I wouldn't ask questions..."

"Then why are you?"

"Because the similarities between last night and back then are undeniable. You both refused treatment, you both were drunk you both weren't cooperative when it came to your temperature being taken and weird shit kept happening, just like it did the night you moved in."

You mean at the casino?" Youngjae asked looking over at him now.

"Yeah at the cas, wait why aren't you denying anything? " Jaebeom was totally thrown, by Youngjae's honesty.

"I could, but what would be the point? You seem to already have it in the bag and I'd just be lying to you if I denied it and I really don't want to, to be honest."

"Will you get in trouble because I figured it out? Wouldn't that be a part of the Guardian code too?"

Youngjae laughed. "Yes, and yes, but I'm already in trouble, that's why you're stuck with me." He looked back out over the railings, "Sorry about that by the way."

"And so how did you get stuck with me?"

"I broke one of the top Guardian codes, I put the ball on number six for you and spoke to you twice.”

"So the Guardian codes are like rules?"

"Yeah, and I broke two in one night, plus many countless others after Sung Min died. The other night the boss decided enough was enough and it was time to teach me a lesson. And I got sent here to you."

"Specifically to me?"

"Yeah."

"So, they sent you here, to me as punishment?"

"Yes, they did. "

Jaebeom burst into laughter. "I'm your punishment? That's funny since I'm the one who's copping all the smart ass remarks from you. More like you're my punishment.” 

Youngjae grinned at jaeebom. "Well you're not just my punishment, you're my assignment.”

“Your assignment?”

“Yes, I'm your Guardian Jaebeom."

"My Guardian?" Jaebeom raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. I'm here to make sure that you're kept safe until we can help you put the idiots who are after you behind bars.”

Jaebeom looked shocked. “You know about that?”

“Of course we do. We know more than you realise.” Youngjae informed him.

“What are you, Youngjae?”

“I just said, I'm your Guardian. Jackson is a Guardian too.”

“So the Guardian's are like protectors?”

“Yes we are.”

“But where do you come from?” Jaebeom asked curiously

“We're from the future.” Youngjae replied quite casually.

“Aer you serious?”

“You asked so I'm telling you. Although I really shouldn't be saying anything, because my ass will be kicked from here to the future and back again, but you're a nice guy, so I'm telling you!”

“I'm a nice guy huh?”

“Yeah, you're alright.” Youngjae faced forwards still looking out across at the beautiful view in front of him.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly that, you're a nice guy. You take me to a theme park, book the whole place out, then worry about the cost of two bloody steaks. You're a nice guy, hyung.”

Jaebeom suddenly realised something that he should probably ask. “But, if you're from the future, are you actually older than me?” 

“Nope," youngjae grinned. "I'm twenty-three no matter where I am. You're still the hyung.”

Jaebeom suddenly smacked him upside the head. 

“Ow hey, what was that for?” Youngjae said rubbing the back of his head.

“That's for all the teasing you cheeky shit. So I'm guessing it was you who tipped that cabinet over at work too?” Jaebeom pulled on his ear.

“Ouch! Yes, you ungrateful jerk. It was." Youngjae replied rubbing his ear after Jaebeom let go. "That bully was pissing me off so badly, that I wanted to punch him myself.”

Jaebeom laughed. “You defended my honour.”

“Pfft, watching you just let him do what he was doing was pissing me off more, he was gonna punch you-you idiot and you were just going to let him. Even your manager was concerned about that guy bullying you. He obviously does it a lot am I right?”

 

“Yeah, but I just let him carry on, he's obviously got an issue or two but we all have.”

“You're too soft, Im Jaebeom. At least stand up for yourself, it's all okay to stay calm and do what you did, but what if he got that punch in. I can't physically interfere, I can only create diversions, distractions and warnings via other means, like the cabinet.”

“So I'm gathering that because I can't see you when all those things happened that you're.... invisible?”

Youngjae pressed the button on his watch,

“SHIT.” Jaebeom backed away as Youngjae disappeared. Okay, I get it, come back, it's too weird.”

Youngjae chuckled as he came back into sight and Jaebeom sighed with relief. 

“Well, that was freaky.”

“This freaky could save your life,” Youngjae said seriously. “Speaking of which, I need to tell you something. I got word from Jackson we need to pack up some provisions and get out of here.”

“They're coming for me right?”

“Yeah,”

“I figured as much. I was going to tell you I was leaving tomorrow anyway, running again. I can't stay in one place for too long, they'll find me if I do. They took over my parent's place already.” 

Youngjae's heart broke at the upset in Jaebeom's voice as he spoke about his family home. “I'm so sorry Jaebeom, but we'll stop them, I'll stop them. It's my job.”

“I can't let you do this Youngjae. It's not your problem.”

“I'm afraid it is. We've been with your family for years, that man you saw, he was your Guardian back then, but he was killed, got stupid, broke one of the two cardinal laws of a Guardian, became voluntarily visible while on the job and paid for it.” Youngjae had been smart he'd asked for information on all their other Guardians earlier, even before Jaebeom mentioned the guy his parents picked up. 

“Shit, the Guardians killed him?

“No, of course not, we don't kill anyone. That's the second cardinal law He was shot in the head by one of your lovely relatives. At least it was over quickly, if the Guardians had punished him, he would have been banished from the Guardianship, sent to the badlands and no one wants to go there trust me”

“Ah, right. Doesn't sound like fun.”

“I wouldn't know and I don't want to know. I may break the minor rules and one or two of the higher code but never the cardinals, nope, I'm crazy, but not that crazy.”

Jaebeom sighed and looked out over the view. “I'm sick of running. I was going to tell you I was going away for a while, let you have the house, but then I considered just staying.”

Youngjae looked over at him again. “ I wouldn't let you do it and I'd follow you any way I have to it's my job. They're trying to kill you so why the hell you'd want to stay is beyond me.”

“I wanted to stay because I found something worth protecting,” Jaebeom said with a heavy sigh.

“Oh you mean that girl back at your work? That's understandable, I mean she's cute and has a great attitude. I love the way she gave that bully a mouthful and I guess you'd make a cute couple.” His face was expressionless as he relayed the words he'd spoken. 

“No, not her.” Jaebeom paused for a second watching Youngjae's reaction and seeing none he continued. “I don't like her like that, she's just a friend and work colleague.”

“Ah, I see. Sorry if I jumped to conclusions prematurely.” Youngjae apologised sincerely his face softening a little.”

“I'm a bit surprised myself though,” Jaebeom admitted. “I never expected to fall for that person. It's a bit of a shock actually, but, it just happened naturally.”

“Well that's a good thing,” Youngjae said as he looked up into the sky. They're lucky. You really are a nice guy, hyung.”

“Yeah, but with all this going on, I really don't know if I should say anything.” Jaebeom joined him in looking up into the sky. The stars were so pretty and enticing and he felt he could look into the heavens like this forever but Youngjae's next words made him look over at him.

“You might regret it if you don't, hyung. You should at least tell them how you feel, get it off your chest.” Youngjae said with great conviction in his voice.

“Not sure I'm brave enough too.” 

“Why? Who is it that has you so bewitched that they stole your heart, but at the same time, makes you so nervous that you're too scared to say anything?”

Jaebeom took a deep breath in, grabbed Youngjae by the arms, turned him to face him and looked him square in the eyes.

“I'm looking right at him!”

Youngjae blinked as words failed him for a second.

“Well,” he finally began, clearing his throat nervously. 

“I really 'wasn't' expecting that.”


	18. Chapter 18

Jackson walked circles around his office. “Why the hell can't I get a hold of him yet, is he on a date or something?”

His sarcasm made Bambam raise an eyebrow. “He'll be back online soon, You already said he'd seen your warning. That's more than he usually does, considering what today is.” 

Jackson nodded and finally sat down. “Yeah, I suppose you're right. At least he took the time to look. That's definitely something he would never do. I wonder if he's alright.”

“Knowing him, he's just slouching around on a couch like he usually does every year. I mean you know his routine. It never changes on this date. Ever.”

“Good point. It's just so frustrating that he's just not over Sung Min yet.” Jackson sighed.

“Well, that's one of the reasons the boss sent him back there. Figured throw him in the deep end and something's gotta give right?” Bambam said waving the handbook at him

Jackson nodded his agreement, “Yeah I guess. It has been way too long and it's been affecting his performance. It's pretty bad when your top Guardian is out of control.”

“I didn't know he was the top Guardian?” Bambam said looking a little shocked.

“Yeah, the first year he was here he kicked so much ass and got to the top pretty fast. Sadly two years later Min Sung died and that was it. He lost it.”

“Wow, I would never have believed it if you hadn't of told me.” Bambam leaned forward on his desk. “Just looking at him makes me want to slap him sometimes, especially when he's so out of control.” 

Jackson nodded. “Yeah I know right. He's totally lost his mojo. It's actually kind of sad. He really was so good.”

“Oh, forget the wayward Guardian for a minute. Did Yugyeom give you his answer sheet?”

“Yes and I am quite pleased to say there, is not one Youngjae type answer on it.” Jackson's face came all overall satisfied and he nodded. “That kid if he doesn't mimic Youngjae's vices and bad habits, will be a great Guardian someday.”

“Yeah and I'm pretty sure he won't be going near the explosives again either,” Bambam reassured Jackson.

“Excellent, glad to hear it,” Jackson replied gratefully. “Right I'm gonna go finish this off and have a nap, I've been up for twenty hours already. After that, I'll try and get in touch with Youngjae again.” 

“You need to rest more Jackson. You do way too much. I don't know how you manage not to get sick.” Bambam said his admiration showing.

“With great difficulty, especially where Youngjae's been involved lately. And Yugyeom's explosive incident didn't make it any easier either. I wanted to kill the little shit.”

“Yes, it showed, why do you think he was hiding from you for. The look on your face when I first saw it, when you started yelling, scared the crap out of me too.”

“Good, at least that way you lot know I mean business. Anyway, I have things to do, and a nap to have, so finishing this.” Jackson stuck his head down and got into his work. 

Bambam chuckled a little. 

Jackson really was such a workaholic.

~*~

Youngjae's cheeks flushed red as he gently pried himself out of Jaebeom's hands and he remained totally lost for words. It had been a long time since he had anybody confess to him and he huffed a deep breath out, exhaling a ton of nervous energy.

“Not the greatest of timing huh?” Jaebeom said a little sheepishly.

Youngjae turned back looking out over the view again. “No, it's not. I have no idea what to say right now. I mean I am, flattered but,”

“Don't.”

“Don't what?”

“Say anything yet.”

“Well, I didn't get the chance.”

“You said but. Buts after a confession frighten me,” Jaebeom said honestly, “and this is the first time in six years I've had the courage to say anything to anyone; and it was only because you said I'd regret it if I didn't. So please, just don't answer. I'm fine to wait until this is all over.”

Youngjae sighed. “You do realise once this is all over I'll be going back.”

“What? Why?” The disappointment on Jaebeom's face was obvious.

“A Guardian is only a Guardian for a family or a person until their trials are brought to an end. We go through hundreds of cases each year, yours has been one of the longest. I...”

“Okay, I get it, just stop.” Jaebeom snapped.

“I'm sorry, Jaebeom. Believe me, if things were different, I'd seriously consider it. You really are a great guy.”

“Yeah, so you keep saying.” Jaebeom's voice was stoic and unhappy. “Anyway, we should go. I have work tomorrow,” he said as he walked away.

Youngjae watched as Jaebeom headed off down the stairs. He felt his heart racing and his hand reached up grasping his chest. It hurt, but it would have to, it just couldn't happen. 

There was no way he could allow himself to freely reciprocate the feelings that Jaebom had for him, even if he wanted to.

He was a Guardian.

And falling in love, was a dangerous thing.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder if I should start running now ehehehehe

It was a few more minutes before Youngjae joined Jaebeom back at the car. He'd been a bit of a mess after their discussion and needed to calm himself down so he could regain his composure. 

The ride back to the house had been silent and neither of them said a word until after they got into the house.

“Pack your stuff tonight and put it in the car. I'll come by and pick you up before heading out of town.”

“What about your Job?' Youngjae asked trying to get Jaebeom to engage with him.

“I'm casual. I can quit at any time.”

“I have plenty of money, we can use...”

Jaebeom glared at him as he walked by. “I don't need your money, Youngjae. I'm, rich remember.” 

Youngjae looked over at him and sighed. “Sure thing. I'm heading to bed night.”

Jaebeom followed after him. "And don't bother following me tomorrow. I'm fine on my own.” 

Youngjae shut the bedroom door ignoring Jaebeom's outburst.

Jaebeom stood there looking hurt, upset and wishing he'd just kept his mouth shut about how he'd felt and if Youngjae hadn't of urged him to say anything because of regret, he wouldn't have bothered.

Once in the bedroom Youngjae sighed got into his pyjamas and crawled into the bed. 

He checked his phone. He'd missed eight messages from Jackson and figured it must be to do with Jaebeom's case and quickly pressing a button, the phone began to ring.

“About time!” Jackson snorted.

“What do you mean about time? you know what day this is, so you're lucky I'm even calling you right now.”

“What's wrong with you?” Jackson asked.

“Nothing is wrong with me, I'm fine,” he snapped. 

“I mean, you idiot, you actually called me back.”

“Oh, well I decided to try and at least be a decent Guardian and still keep in touch. Min Sung would want that, he'd probably kick my ass if he could see me being a baby.”

And you finally decided to do this after four years?”

Yes.”

“Miracles never cease. So the reason I called you so much, is that we now know that Jaebeom's parents were definitely murdered.”

“So our suspicions were right all along,” Youngjae said thoughtfully.

“Yeah, and the people investigating the car were paid off to cover up the tampering done to the car.” 

“Thought as much. Anything else?”

“Yeah, I'm really shocked you called me back, especially today being what it is. But I admire you for that. I know Min Sung would be proud of you right now. “

“Yeah, I'd like to think so.”

“Nice to hear you talking about him though. So what happened to change your mindset?”

“Stuff. Anyway, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, we're heading out of town. Hoping to get out of here before they turn up. Might be smart, give me time to think of a plan. Jaebeom's is just running.”

“Okay will keep you posted night.” Jackson ended the call.

Youngjae sighed and got out of the bed, heading out of the room to find Jaebeom. 

“If you can spare a few seconds of your time for me, “Youngjae said finding Jaebeom in the kitchen making himself a drink. 

Jaebeom ignored him.

“Jackson just gave me information about your family,” Youngjae informed him.

Again he was ignored.

“He's found the proof that your parents were murdered.” Youngjae just threw it out there.

“He what,” Jaebeom whirled around to face Youngjae. “What did he say?”

“That the car was deliberately tampered with and the people who were supposed to look over it properly to see what went wrong, were paid to give a false report.” he turned and began to walk away.

“Anything else?”

Youngjae stopped in the doorway. “Yeah, he said he was shocked I even called him back considering what today is. Night.” He headed back to his room.

Jaebeom sighed as he heard Youngjae's room door slam shut, turned off the kettle and headed towards his own room.

Maybe they would both feel better in the morning.

~*~

Next morning Jaebeom got up as usual and went about his morning routine and again, made breakfast for the two of them and then went to knock on his door.

No answer.

“Youngjae?”

Again no answer.

“Youngjae come on, I made breakfast for you.”

Still no answer. 

Taking a deep breath he opened the door and stuck his head around the corner, but Youngjae wasn't in his bed. Puzzled, Jaebeom opened the door wider and then it hit him.

The overpowering smell of alcohol.

“Oh shit!” He said as he threw the door open and saw Youngjae curled up in the corner on the floor of the bedroom on the far wall. His face tear-stained, looking like death warmed up and barely conscious.

“Youngjae?” He ran over and placed his hand on his forehead. “Shit that's worse than before.”

He ran back out and then back into the room with the thermometer seconds later. “he shoved it into Youngjae's mouth and ran back out again coming back with a big bowl of water and a washcloth he pulled the desk over as he had the night before last placed everything on it and then went back for Youngjae. The thermometer going off just as he did so his hands were shaking as he read the temperature this couldn't be normal for even Youngjae.

Tossing the thermometer to the side, he grabbed Youngjae picking him up in his arms and taking him back over to the bed and lying him in it. 

“Youngjae, can you hear me? Youngjae?” Jaebeom started to panic as Youngjae didn't respond, just seemed to lull in and out of consciousness.

“Damn it, you idiot! Why did you have to go and do this for?” Jaebeom searched around the room finding Youngjae's phone in his jacket pocket and out of sheer panic pressed a button

“What is it loser?”

“Jackson is that you?”

“Jaebeom? What, how did you?

“Please help me, it's Youngjae I don't know what to do he got hold of a hell of a lot more alcohol at least seven bottles and I can't get through to him he's barely keeping his consciousness and his temperature is insane.

“How high is it?” Jackson asked him

“It's one hundred and ninety-six,” Jaebeom said his voice desperate now.

“Shit, the idiot! Is he still breathing?”

“Yes.”

“What's he wearing?”

“His pyjamas.”

“Take them off and wash him down with cool water.”

“What? But...”

“Just do it We'll be right there.”

Jaebeom was washing Youngjae's naked form down with the water when the knock on the door came a few minutes later and he rushed to open it.

“He's in his room,” Jaebeom told Jackson before he had the chance to ask.

He followed Jackson and two other men with him into the bedroom and they completely took over. 

Jackson looked up and seeing Jaebeom's face rife with worry, he nodded to Bambam.

Bambam walked up to Jaebeom and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I'd like to ask you few questions, is there somewhere we can talk?” 

“Yeah sure,” Jaebeom said looking back over at Youngjae, “Through here.” He led him into the lounge room and motioned to the couch. “Please.”

Bambam sat down and Jaebeom moved to the chair over the other side and sat down too.

“I'm Bambam, I'm another of Youngjae's colleagues. I apologise for Youngjae's reckless beha...”

“Don't. Don't go blaming him for something that's more than likely my fault.” Jaebeom stopped him.

“Your fault? How is it your fault?”

Jaebeom sighed out loudly and looked towards Bambam.

He'd have to explain everything now.

“It all started with the theme park yesterday morning....”


	20. Chapter 20

By the time Jaebeom related the parts of his story that wouldn't get Youngjae into trouble, he didn't feel any better.

"So," Bambam began, “in summarising, you took him to a theme park, discussed his ex and by the end of the night you confessed to him. He rejected you and then you two had a falling out of sorts, which then resulted in him ending up like this?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I may have pushed him too far by confessing. And I wasn't really nice to him after he rejected me either." Jaebeom sighed.

"I see. So then it may have well been this. I mean he's been hanging onto his ex's memory for a good few years since his death. It isn't that easy to just let go, so I guess it could cause trauma." Bambam said thoughtfully.

"I'm so sorry for the trouble I've caused," Jaebeom replied apologetically. All I want for Youngjae is for him to be happy and instead I did this to him."

"No, Jaebeom, he did this to himself," Jackson said as he came into the lounge room with the medic. "However, the idiot will be fine. No matter what happened between you, it wasn't your fault. He chose to drink and he's adult enough to know better. Anyway, the doc gave him a sedative and something to knock the alcohol out of his system quicker.” Jackson looked Jaebeom in the eye. “Just when you go back in there, don't be alarmed, he's hooked up to a small piece of equipment. It's just to help regulate his breathing until his body temperature settles.”

Jaebeom sighed. "Thank you. I was beside myself not knowing what to do. Last time he drank, it wasn't this bad. I was able to nurse him until he could sleep."

Jackson sighed. "I suppose I owe you an explanation for the extremely high temperatures? I'm not supposed to go into details but..."

"Then don't. Youngjae asked me to trust him." Jaebeom told him, pretending that he was still none the wiser. There was no way he was going to betray the extreme amount of trust that Youngjae had bestowed upon him, nor did he want to get him into trouble. "Let's leave it at that."

Jackson and Bambam exchanged glances and then nodded. "Alright, we'll leave you to him. If you need us, just call."

"Thank you!" Jaebeom said gratefully as he walked them to the front door, letting them out.

Once they had gone, Jaebeom couldn't get back into the bedroom fast enough and while he was extremely grateful that Youngjae would be fine, he still felt awfully responsible for what happened.

Maybe he really did push the boundaries of what Youngjae was ready for when he had confessed, and considering it was already an emotional day for Youngjae, he probably should have just said nothing, for Youngjae's sake at least.

Losing your parents was bad enough, but losing a partner and a lover, that would be just as awful, if not worse.

Jaebeom pulled the desk chair over and sat down next to a small machine now situated on the bedside drawers.

Looking at the apparatus Jaebeom could see it was attached to the piece of equipment that had been placed over Youngjae's nose and mouth and that's when the overwhelming feeling of guilt hit him hard.

He reached over taking Youngjae's hand in both of his and then burst into tears.

How he'd fallen so hard for this crazy idiot, in just a few short days, he had no idea, he just knew he had; and now, here they were, Youngjae in not the best of places right now and all because he had been selfish.

The more he wiped his tears, the more that seemed to fall and he buried his face into the bed.

A few moments later, he felt his hair being gently stroked, and he looked up, a pair of red and worried eyes squinting at him.

"Jaebeom," Youngjae began in a soft exhausted whisper, "I'm so sorry."

Jaebeom literally threw himself at the younger man. Burying his face into the crook of Youngjae's neck and sobbing more.

Slowly, Youngjae wrapped his arms around Jaebeom's back and held him.

"Do you know how hard it is to let someone go after being with them for so long? Then realise in that same moment that you let them go, that you've fallen for someone else, and then have to reject that person even when you're crazy about them, but too scared to let them in because you're afraid of losing them?" Youngjae whispered softly in Jaebeom's ear.

Jaebeom shook his head.

“It's pretty damned hard, not so boring boy.”

Jaebeom laughed through his tears and Youngjae sighed as he gently pushed Jaebeom up off him a little and gave him a soft smile.

Jaebeom looked at him apologetically. “I'm so sorry, Youngjae I was s selfish and I...”

“Shh, it's fine. Just stop with the crying and listen to what I have to say. That's all I ask.” 

Jaebeom nodded in agreement, took a deep breath, wiped his face and sat upright in his chair.

“Come up here.” Youngjae gave the bed a pat beside him and Jaebeom crawled up next to him.

“Our lives are not our own right now and there's no telling what will happen before this is all over, and all I have to offer is the here and now. It's dangerous, it risky and we could die if we're not focussed on what's happening around us.”

“I know and I understand that all too well.” Jaebeom agreed.

“I can't promise you anything, you need to understand that,” Youngjae said firmly.

“I do and fully. You're from the future. Something that we more than likely will never have with each other.”

“This is why I can only offer you the here and now, that's if you're willing to accept it.”

“I'll take whatever you can give me, for as long as you can give it,” Jaebeom replied agreeing to Youngjae's terms and conditions.

“Don't make me regret my decision.” Youngjae finished as he closed his eyes and drifted back off to sleep.

Jaebeom smiled as he lay quietly next to Youngjae until it occurred to him there was something extremely important that he hadn't done.

“Shit,” he said with a start, “I totally forgot to ring work!”

~*~

Jackson stormed out of the bosses office and headed back to his desk. He'd just handed in his latest report and had been berated over Yugyeom's explosives escapade.

If it wasn't one thing it was another, between the new guy and Youngjae, Jackson felt he really had his work cut out for him. 

So now he had to write up a new trainee Guardian contract that made sure no trainees were allowed to use explosives until they were fully qualified Guardians and that could take hours.

And now thanks to Youngjae he had to write up a whole new Guardian contract with set rules about compulsory bereavement leave and that could take even more hour of his precious hours.

All in all, Jackson was definitely not the happiest member of the Guardianship right this moment.

Slamming the request down on his desk he looked over at Yugyeom's desk and sighed. 

Awol again.

He looked around the office. No Bambam either. “Excellent, I'm the only one doing any work in here again!” He looked around the room. No one was in, and his annoyance showed in his face.

Sighing Jackson set about opening his laptop. “I swear I must be the only one around here that doesn't have Youngjaeitis.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the no post yesterday. A short one for you today before I get busy again...

Jaebeom had called work and let them know he wouldn't be in for a while. It was easier just to tell them he had a family emergency, which really wasn't far from the truth and his boss had given him as much time off as he needed, let him know his job would still be there waiting for him when he returned and to just come back in whenever he was ready.

For that he was grateful.

He'd also contacted Mark and Jinyoung to let them know he'd be gone for a while for the same reasons, and Mark, being Mark, just told him to ring if he needed anything and that he and Jinyoung would be there for him if he needed anything and that they would take care of the house while he was gone.

For that, he was also grateful, but let him know that it would be best to wait at least until after the weekend before going there, telling him that he was getting in pest control to get rid of a few bugs. 

Or, in reality, to protect them in case of nasty surprises while at the house, because if anyone looking for him turned up at the house itself between the time he and Youngjae left, then that would put Mark and Jinyoung in danger and he wasn't willing to risk it.

By the time lunch rolled around Youngjae was still out of it and Jaebeom wondered if he should wake him up or let him sleep. He wasn't keen to stay around for too much longer either, there was no telling when the enemy would attack him. 

Enemy, he had decided, was more realistic than calling them, family. They weren't what you could call a family anyway. All the bickering and selfishness he had heard and grown up around was always over money. The arguments were always so degrading, nasty and spiteful and he wondered how they hadn't killed each other off yet.

But as he saw things now, he had no doubt that they were working together to get rid of him first and he'd surmised that even if they managed to kill him, they'd have plenty of time to turn on each other later.

He'd hated them all growing up, but what made him hate them so much more now, was known for sure that they had murdered his parents; and for that, he could never forgive them.

Never.

Driving the unpleasant thoughts to the back of his mind, Jaebeom decided to let Youngjae sleep a little more and started packing some supplies in his car. He felt bad about all the food Youngjae had bought for them and told Mark and Jinyoung to take what they liked when they did come over as he didn't want it to spoil or go to waste

He packed as much as the car would take and figured if he had to, he could sell the car to throw them off the scent, then get another to replace it, but that he'd worry about later.

Right now his main priority was to go wake Youngjae and get him ready to head out. He really wanted to get them as far away as he could and do it as soon as possible.

Jaebeom headed for Youngjae's room opening the door quietly and peeking in.

Seeing he was still sleeping, he walked up to the bed and sat down on the edge facing him.

Gently he reached over and pushed the hair out if Youngjae's face, then gently began to rub his back again as he had before in order to wake him up.  

Youngjae's eyes slowly fluttered open and Jaebeom smiled as the younger man looked up at him, then sighed sleepily, before yawning.

Jaebeom gently touched  Youngjae's forehead. It was a little clammy, but his temperature definitely felt like it had dropped right back down again.

"Are you okay? " Youngjae asked Jaebeom before Jaebeom had the chance to open his mouth.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

"No, because you're not the selfish asshole who tried to drink himself into oblivion."

"Well, you're not the selfish asshole who expected, something,  knowing it was long term impossible."

"No, but I'm being an extremely selfish asshole by allowing us to be together temporarily."

"Well, if we're going there, then I'm the selfish asshole, you're doing this for."

"In that case, we're both selfish assholes because I'm doing this for me too."

"Right," Jaebeom grinned, "Then that makes us even."

"So you're saying we're a couple of assholes?"

"Absolutely," Jaebeom agreed.

"I can live with that," Youngjae said with a smile."

"However..."

"I feel another lecture coming on," Youngjae smirked.

"You ever scare me like that again, I will allow you to buy me that paddle and I will take it to your backside, but in a non-sexual manner." Jaebeom firmly chastised him.

"Well, you're no fun."

"Neither is finding the guy you like looking like he's almost half dead in the corner of a room in your house." Jaebeom scolded him.

Youngjae looked up at him apologetically, "Point taken. I'm really sorry I made you worry a second time and it won't happen again. I promise." He held his hand out.

Jaebeom took the proffered hand but looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "How do I know you'll actually keep that promise?"

Youngjae raised both his eyebrows in response. "You want proof huh?"

"Yes, actually, I..."

Jaebeom never got the chance to finish, as Youngjae's lips firmly planted against his own.


	22. Chapter 22

Jaebeom found himself being pulled downwards and then suddenly Youngjae's lips were firmly attached to his. It shocked him somewhat as he was expecting some kind of backchat, mouthy answer as always and certainly not this.

Jaebeom felt a little more than 'just embarrassed' too. After all, here he was, the supposed hyung, but this cheeky, bratty, mischievous and painfully cute little asshat, seemed to enjoy pushing the hyung, dongsaeng boundaries in order to see just how much embarrassment he could cause him on any given day. 

Today, seemingly, was no different.

Well, actually, it was. 

Youngjae was kissing him. 

So much that Jaebeom's heart raced, his face burned red, his mind stopped functioning and he had no idea what the hell to do with himself. 

In fact, Jaebeom was so stunned, that he made the oddest noise he'd ever made in his entire life. It sounded something akin to a squeak, a snort and a grunt all rolled into one, and to which he immediately became self conscious of, before pulling himself away from the unbridled and shameless charms of his junior.

As Jaebeom tried to figure out which way to look, he caught Youngjae's smirk from out the corner of his eye and did his best to avoid his gaze.

“What? I thought that was the perfect promise?”

Jaebeom stood, his embarrassment greater than it had been during the kiss and he gave Youngjae an embarrassed glare. “Now you're just fucking me...”

“Excuse me...” Youngjae interrupted him with a straight face, not letting him finish. “I am not fucking you at all, especially not right this minute, later, however,” he continued raising an eyebrow.

Jaebeom's face deepened in colour, and his eyes widened as soon as he heard those words emerge from Youngjae's mouth. That, accompanied by the raised eyebrow, meant that no two guesses were needed to tell him what came next and he hightailed it out of the room quick smart.

Youngjae sat upright as Jaebeom rushed out of the room, an incredibly large smile forming over his face.

Jaebeom really was such an easy tease.

~*~

Bambam and Yugyeom sauntered back into the office about an hour later and Jackson stood between their desks looking like he was about to burst a vein.

“And where have you two been? And where the hell are the rest of the staff?” Jackson asked pointing at the two of them, then at the other empty desks.

“We were out at a job, and you asked the boss if he could do Youngjae that favour, remember?”

“So you're saying that six Guardians were needed in order to create a diversion to stop a couple of people reaching their destination for an extra day?”

“A couple? Jackson, have you been sleeping during updates? There's one lot after him from one direction and two more in the other.”

“What?”

“It was discussed during the meeting right before afternoon tea. Remember?”

“No, because I wasn't there. I was too busy reworking two types of contracts, because someone,” he looked at Yugyeom with an unhappy glare, “blew up a shit ton of stuff with explosives he shouldn't have even looked at, and the other decided to deal with traumatic grief without getting any help and ending up out of control. And then,” Jackson grimaced, pulling out his phone and bringing up something on it to show the other two. 

“To make it even worse,” he flicked through his phone, “he sends me a bazillion fucking photos of he and Jaebeom at a puppy cafe of all places, not only patting, but playing with them as well. I swear to god, my mental state can only take so much of this before I start to melt down and rip you all new ones with a fucking razor blade!”

“I see,” Bambam said ushering Yugyeom off to his desk, then taking Jackson gently by the arm and dragging him back over to his own desk, sitting him down in his seat and then sitting himself down on Jackson's desk. “Need some time off do we? Or, are you actually missing Youngjae? You're not usually this grumpy, well you are, but you don't usually threaten to use razor blades. It's usually steel bars and tasers.”

“Actually, it's steel bars and cattle prods,” Jackson corrected him, “but 'why' exactly would I be missing that pain in the ass?” Jackson asked leaning back in his chair, arms folded.

“Word has it that you actually have a crush on him,” Bambam replied casually.

“What? No! Who the hell said that?” Jackson laughed.

“Most of the staff. Correct me if I'm wrong here,” Bambam smirked, “but who's the one who runs around after him the most?”

“That would be me,” Jackson began, “but that's only because of his incorrigible nose for trouble.”

Bambam shook his head. “Right, and who's the one that insisted that he take Youngjae to the past personally, in order to make sure he got there safely? Which any one of us could have done by the way.” 

“Me, because I'm the one that handles the finances and needed to make sure Jaebeom got the money.” Jackson shrugged.

“And who was it that convinced the boss that Youngjae be allowed to take the room at Jaebeom's house for the time he's there for so that he wouldn't be lonely, even though he was originally supposed to rent something on his own, so that suspicion wasn't aroused while he's there, but then made up some ridiculous story and told Youngjae that he was going to live with Jaebeom because it was part of his punishment, so he wouldn't realise you were being a soft ass on him?"

“Come on, let's be reasonable here," Jackson began defending himself, "six months for anyone not used to being away from their own home is a fucking long time and besides, it was cheaper for the Guardianship to pay Jaebeom what he was asking for the room, rather than the amount it would have cost us if Youngjae were to rent on his own."

Bambam rolled his eyes at Jackson. “Are you not seeing the pattern here?” 

“Just because I worry about him, does not mean in any way, shape or form, that I have a crush on him! Crushes are for small minded people who like to pat puppies! Do you see me patting any puppies?”

“I don't see you getting out and getting laid either,” Bambam chortled, “but that's not the point here. Is it?”

“What is the point? Nothing you've sprouted from that ridiculous imagination of yours is convincing enough to prove that I have a crush on Choi. Nothing, nada, zip.” Jackson said smugly looking at Bambam like he'd just won the lottery.

“Oh hey,” Bambam waved looking past Jackson. “Youngjae, we were just talking about you?”

Jackson jumped out of his seat excitedly, turning around faster than Bambam had ever seen him move before.

“I'm, er, just going for lunch,” Jackson said, quickly covering his eagerness to get out of his seat and his disappointment in seeing no one when he looked around.

“Case in point, I believe,” Bambam smirked, casually strolling back to his own desk, stepping swiftly to the side as a stapler flew past him

“I'm pretty sure that was a 'fuck you',” Yugyeom snickered as the stapler hit the wall and dropped to the floor.

“That wasn't just any 'fuck you', Yugi," Bambam chuckled as he sat back at his desk watching Jackson leave the office post haste. 

"That was a, 'fuck you' for being damn right.”


	23. Chapter 23

Youngjae left Jaebeom to himself for a while after he had got up showered and dressed. He'd felt a little guilty about teasing Jaebeom so much but this last one kind of crossed the line between playing with him and actually meaning it.

Speaking for himself, he'd enjoyed the kiss, but felt a little void because Jaebeom hadn't really had the chance to voluntarily participate and Youngjae had felt oddly disappointed.

As for the part about fucking him 'around', he'd actually felt annoyed that Jaebeom hadn't believed that he was serious, which is why he'd pulled out all the stops with the innuendo this time.

Youngjae had been amused afterwards, but at the same time wondered if he may have actually broken the poor man.

After all, Jaebeom obviously really did like him.

And in all honesty, he really did like Jaebeom a lot more than he actually was letting on.

Finally, Youngjae got sick of thinking about it all and went in search of Jaebeom and found him in the kitchen just as he'd finished packing food for them for their journey to where ever it was they were heading.

As Youngjae stood, watching Jaebeom carefully pack things into a cooler bag, then zip it up, a serene feeling washed over him and his heart unmistakably fluttered. 

It surprised him but he smiled. "So..."

Jaebeom startled at his voice, blushed and stopped still.

“I really want us to get something straight here.” Youngjae began, “I was damn serious when I kissed you and it pissed me off when all you could say was that I was fucking you around. Also, I wouldn't tease you so damn much if I wasn't actually attracted to you and you weren't so damn easy to tease. And even though I was joking with you about the sexual interaction reference at the time, I'm honestly not averse to the idea of indulging in intimacy with you sometime or other, but if you are with me then that's fine. I'm not offended in the least." 

Youngjae sighed before continuing, "however, what I am offended about is that you assumed I really wasn't serious when I kissed you. It would have been nice, seeing as how you confessed to me first, If you had reciprocated with a little more enthusiasm. In all honesty, I was actually disappointed that you didn't. You have the softest lips and I was enjoying it. I really would have liked it to last a little longer."

There he'd said it and he'd been blatantly honest.

Youngjae sighed heavily when Jaebeom didn't respond and he headed outside. "Anyway my bag is packed and I'm ready when you are. I'll meet you at the car." 

Jaebeom watched him leave from out from the corner of his eye. He'd blushed all the way, through every single word Youngjae had said, but he'd also listened carefully to every single word that he'd said too.

Grabbing the bag of food from the bench, he gave the house one final check over. Mark already had a spare set of keys for it, which meant no unwarranted stops had to be made, so he locked the house and headed to the car where Youngjae patiently stood waiting for him.

Jaebeom looked Youngjae square in the eyes and smiled. "Let's try this again," he suggested as he leaned forward, gently pressing his lips to Youngjae's, and he happily indulged in the semi-passionate and exhilarating kiss, that Jaebeom freely bestowed upon him.

As Jaebeom kissed him, Youngjae's eyes closed and the sensation of Jaebeom's lips against his own was pure heaven. His lips were so very soft and warm and Youngjae thought himself lucky that he'd been allowed a second chance. 

As their lips began to part, Youngjae hung onto the kiss for as long as he possibly could until Jaebeom finally broke the magic they'd shared.

"I hope that makes up for me leaving you disappointed the first time around?" Jaebeom asked sincerely as he gently rubbed Youngjae's arm.

Youngjae looked at him and smiled softly. "I think you may have just completely stolen my heart, that's not in my job description you know. I should really charge you extra for this."

Jaebeom found himself chuckling rather loudly as he unlocked the car. "Serves you right for stealing mine in the first place.”

"Fair call.” Youngjae grinned as he climbed into his side of the car. “Do we have everything we need?" 

Jaebeom threw Youngjae's bag into the back of the car and then got into the driver's side. "Yeah, I was thorough."

"Right then. I know just the place we can hide out for a while until I have my plan completely worked out." Youngjae said pressing buttons on his watch.

*You have one already?" Jaebeom sounded impressed.

Youngjae threw him sidewards glance and raised an eyebrow. "Of course I do. What do you take me for, some kind of wayward misfit who randomly does shit?" 

"Yes, actually," Jaebeom laughed. “I do.”

“Pffft,” Youngjae snorted as he flicked his watch lid open and a holographic projection of an old building appeared before him.

“Wow fancy technology, is my watch similar?” Jaebeom's curiosity peaked

“In all honesty, yours has a tracking system installed. That way if for any reason we get separated at any time, I can be there in an instant, providing my portal function is working, it wasn't when I tried it last.”

“So your parents?” Jaebeom queried.

“Mother's alive, father's dead, and the boss actually sent this for you,” Youngjae said tapping Jaebeom's watch. 

“Right, anything else I should know about you, or you being here?”

“Nope, that's it I think. I'm pretty sure you know everything I do now,” Youngjae replied as he thought about it some more. “Okay so this is way up out of the city, miles out into the country.” he held his hand out, “Pass me your phone.”

Jaebeom did as he was instructed and Youngjae added the place into the GPS function of Jaebeom's phone.

“Wow, that's a couple of days drive from here,” Jaebeom said as he looked at it intently

“And it's safe for now at least. We can't be picky and this place is perfect, Jackson said it's an actual Guardian safe house.”

“And we can't just portal from here to there?”

“No, sadly. Only people and smaller objects can be sent through portals, like my suitcase or small animals. I mean we probably could but it’s not been done before.” Youngjae informed him.

“What else does the watch do?”

“When we get to our destination I'll show you all the functions, how does that sound?”

“Great. And in saying that, I guess we should make a move.”

“Probably should do.” Youngjae agreed. “It's already after two pm and I want to travel as far as we can out of the city tonight.”

Jaebeom nodded as he started up the car. 

The time to run again had come.


	24. Chapter 24

Two hours into the drive Jaebeom stopped at a gas station to refill, giving them the chance to refresh themselves.

Youngjae had already been to the bathroom, come back and went inside to pay, while Jaebeom took his turn in the bathroom.

Looking around the store inside, Youngjae spotted something over in the far corner. He grinned and decided to make a purchase or two as well as paying for the gas and headed back to the car and waited.

It was a few more minutes before Jaebeom returned to the car and opened the door 

He went to get in, stopped at the sight at that lay before him on his seat and a huge smile formed over his face.

Jaebeom held up a rose and then the small chocolate, before climbing back into the car. "This supposed to make up for all the cheek you've been giving me?" He said with a grin.

"Hyung," Youngjae began as he looked over at him, "I intend to throw some kind of romance at you before anything happens between us intimately. I don't want you to think I'm all innuendo and raging hormones."

"As opposed to what?"

"Hmm, okay you got me there," Youngjae smirked.

"So, in other words, raging hormones and innuendo," Jaebeom replied casually.

"I guess I can't deny that then," Youngjae said with a chuckle.

"Don't even try." Jaebeom laughed. "Any chance you had at coming across as cute and innocent, failed as soon as you opened your mouth."

"May I remind you, that you were the one who started it," Youngjae smirked.

"You put the innuendo into it, not me," Jaebeom protested.

"And for the third time, Im Jaebeom, who's the one that still hasn't denied the fact that they enjoy it?"

Jaebeom shut up immediately. No matter what he'd say about that now, Youngjae would be all over it like bees to honey. "So, this Guardian safe house," He figured changing the subject would fix things. "Is it hidden from the main road?"

"Yeah, it is, and the fact that you just ignored the subject completely, proves that you're still not denying you enjoy it."

Jaebeom started the car and gave Youngjae a quick glance. " I think you have more fun, reminding me of that fact than anything." He chuckled. "And thank you for these, it was very sweet of you." He leaned over and gave Youngjae a quick peck on the cheek.

Youngjae just smiled as they headed back onto the road. 

~*~

Jackson snuck back into the office after he'd had lunch. Bambam and Yugyeom weren't there but the others had returned. He sat back down at his desk and sighed. There in front of him on his desk was his stapler and under it was a picture of him and Youngjae from the morning of the staff Christmas party three months ago. Youngjae's lips planted firmly on Jackson's cheek. "I swear I'll freaking kill them.”

He picked the picture up and threw it unceremoniously upside down into his desk drawer, pulled out some paperwork and start going through it.

He'd barely begun to read through the paperwork when he sighed opened the drawer and pulled out the picture again. He found himself smiling softly at it, remembering that moment fondly.

`````````

The Christmas period at the Guardianship was usually quiet and boring everyone was at their desks except for one of them, he was off on a job somewhere, no doubt, running around doing things he wasn't supposed and probably patting puppies, but that was one of his minor vices and it alone drove the Guardianship insane.

The number of times he had frightened the hell out of their owners and other passers-by, by making random comments whilst patting them was way out of line.

Every day he was losing more favour with the boss and Jackson was ready to strangle the little shit. He was writing up some paperwork. It was the first time ever he had had to erase people's memory of the incident, thanks to the stupid antics of one Choi Youngjae. He was causing the establishment problem after problem and Jackson was at his wit's end with him.

Jackson sighed and signed the release of funds form to pay for the damage caused to a car because of Youngjae's reckless behaviour and then in turn, it had resulted in him having to erase the memory of every individual involved in the incident once it was over.

Jackson had just finished signing the form when Youngjae waltzed into the room.

“So guys I've decided this year we're gonna have a Christmas party,” he yelled loudly getting everyone's attention at the same time.

“We never have a Christmas party, you know that,” Jackson informed him, “We don't have the budget for it .”

“Bullshit, I've seen the figures we do, but, I'm organising it and paying for it so you can put your little financier's hat away, Wang.”

“How the hell can you afford it? You may be top Guardian Choi and can command top dollar, but you've had a few pay cuts lately due to all this shit.” Jackson held up the stack of papers in his hand.

“Pfft.” Youngjae walked up to Jackson and sat on his desk. “Doesn't mean I don't have money. And besides,” he turned to face the others, “I've already spoken to the boss and he says I can, as long as I do pay for it myself. So who's up for a Christmas party on me?” he raised his hand.

The office erupted and Bambam and Yugyeom's hands shot up first followed by the rest of the staff who were vocalising their excitement just as loudly as Youngjae's initial announcement had been.

“Fine Choi; and just when are you planning all this disruption?”

“I thought maybe Friday next week since Christmas falls on Sunday?”

“Sure, why not? And besides you causing us a shit ton of grief lately has been harrowing, I expect a good party as payback.” Jackson sighed and went on about his work.

“You know Jackson you'd come across as less of a killjoy if you found yourself a mate.”

“You offering?”

“Ha, you wish! Maybe, though, if you weren't such a boring ass hat. Ciao.” Youngjae got off Jackson's desk and headed off.

Jackson shook his head and watched Youngjae as he sauntered over to his own desk and sat back down. He'd liked Youngjae for a while but had never said anything, but thought maybe he should try and be less of a 'boring asshat'. He'd been half joking when he'd asked if Youngjae was offering and Youngjae's answer at the end had actually surprised him.

Sighing again, he put his head down and got on with the rest of his paperwork

~*~

Friday week came around fast and Youngjae got in early to decorate the office. He finished and looked around the room quite pleased with his efforts.

There was only one place safe to order real food from now and catering he ordered would be in around twelve thirty pm which gave everyone a chance to be back in the office after their morning shift. Food was mostly replicated in machines and animals were the robotic type, programmed to act like the real thing, but it wasn't the same, so having this catering was his gift to his coworkers for Christmas but they had no idea it was coming.

Looking around Youngjae realised they had no Christmas tree and wondered whether he should have bought one or not. They were hard to come by now and no one was willing to go outside of the city to bring one in and those few who grew them in the city asked ridiculous prices for a small one. 

Outside the boundaries of the city, it was harsh and cruel and only those who were not willing to abide by the city laws remained out there. Then there was the badlands, the place further out beyond the boundaries of the outside boundaries where the criminals and those who had betrayed the government or broken the cardinal laws of the Guardianship were sent, you might find one or two places that might grow them, but out there but plants and animals were extremely rare. 

He thought about it and decide he could put a holographic up and flicked his watch open.

“Hey trouble maker, get your ass here and give me a hand.”

Youngjae turned at Jackson's voice and his mouth dropped open a shocked look on his face “YOU GOT A REAL TREE?” 

“Choi, settle down, it's no big deal. Someone owed me a favour and I collected on it that's all, just come and give me a hand, would you? It's not exactly light.”

 

“No big deal?” Youngjae said dashing over to help him carry it. “Jackson this is huge, you got a real fucking tree! They're so rare there's almost none left anywhere, you know that too. I was just thinking about all that in my head and then you walk in, with this.”

“Glad you're excited about it, let's just get this to the corner okay. My back is killing me. I had to drag it from the truck into the lift and from the lift to here.” Jackson said as they lugged the heavy tree to the corner, standing it upright.

Finally balancing it right. Youngjae grinned and grabbed some more decorations throwing them over and around the tree. He'd made them all himself, barely anyone celebrated Christmas here anymore. 

Youngjae and his partner Min Sung had, but he was gone now, and there was no one else he really wanted to share it with intimately, so he felt the staff Christmas party would be a good way to remain close to Min Sung's memory wit out the loneliness factor hitting him hard until Christmas morning, but that would be okay for now, at least he wasn't alone.

Youngjae suddenly portalled out and a few seconds later he was back carrying a big box. He placed it on the ground shut his portal down and then grinned at Jackson as he placed presents for everyone under the tree.

“Shit Choi, this had to cost you a small fortune. Are you seriously sure you can afford this.”

Youngjae gave him a gentle smile. “Thanks to Min Sung I can.”

“Min Sung? But Youngjae he's...”

“I know, you don't need to remind me.”

“Ah sorry.”

“It's okay. I'm sorry, it's my issue, not yours. But anyway he left me everything. He had no family no one to share anything with. We're the only ones who were like his family. I 'was' his only family.”

“Shit Youngjae, I didn't know,” Jackson said softly.

“It's okay Jackson you weren't to know. He only confided in me. Anyway,” Youngjae sighed putting the memories aside for now, “I got something for everyone and I already left the bosse's present on his desk.”

“You're an amazing guy, Youngjae, annoying, but amazing. Thanks for doing all this.” Jackson gave him a hearty pat on the back. “These guys need some kind of relief. This job is draining in more ways and one and I'm sure they're pretty much feeling grateful for this.”

Youngjae smiled. “It's gonna be great that's for sure. Oh come on Wangy, let's take a selfie with the tree and the presents.”

“Ahh, no, no. I'm fine, really. I take a shit photo.”

Aww come on don't be a boring asshat, let's do it, please Wangy, Wang, Wang.”

Jackson made the mistake of looking directly at him. His eyes were big and wide and he was giving him the biggest cutest and adorable look ever.”

“Fine you menace, I'll do it, but hurry up I don't want people seeing me do things I don't do!”

Youngjae dragged him across to the tree and wrapped his arm around Jackson's shoulders. “Come on Wangy, smile, I know you have one, I've seen it it's cute!”

Jackson suddenly found himself blushing and Youngjae laughed. 

“Come on you rigid cucumber, smile.”

“Rigid cucumber?”Jackson said laughing and before he knew it Youngjae's lips were on his cheeks and the photo was taken.

“Choi Youngjae who gave you permission to kiss my cheek?” Jackson asked stoically, his face all red.

“Me, because I knew you'd smile even more after I did it, look?” He got the picture up and Jackson laughed.

“You're definitely one crazy son of a bitch. You could give a guy the wrong idea by kissing him like that.”

Youngjae smiled. “Why would you have the wrong Idea? You kiss a person when you like them right?”

“Yeah, but you don't like me like that.” Jackson reminded him

“I said already, I don't like boring asshats,” Youngjae smirked and grinned as he walked away leaving Jackson just as confused as ever. “You're a great friend though.”

Jackson sighed and shook his head. So you're saying that if I wasn't such a boring asshat it might be different?”

Youngjae shrugged. “Maybe? I don't know. I'm not ready to leave Min Sung behind just yet. I guess once I do I'll be able to love again, but for now, just be my friend, but never expect me to reciprocate any feelings you have for me Jackson, because, what if I meet someone else. Just keep that in mind.”

Jackson nodded. “Thanks for being honest with me, Choi.”

“It's the only way to be.”

Jackson smiled as he went back to his desk a little more enlightened about his relationship with Youngjae, but still disappointed at the rejection.

`````````

Jackson sighed. It had been a poignant moment he felt they had shared, but so far Youngjae had remained true to his word. 

Youngjae was still too far out of his reach.


	25. Chapter 25

"What I don't understand is why are they running if they have Youngjae?" Yugyeom asked as Jackson filled them in once Youngjae sent his report back.

"Jaebeom doesn't want to involve his friends in this. He wants to keep ahead of them one step ahead of the way. He's thinking for himself." 

"So then why did he randomly decide to ask Youngjae to run with him, if he wants to keep  outsiders you his problems safe?"

Jackson went to speak and then remained quiet. The idiot wouldn't, would he?

"Actually, that's a really good question," Bambam said throwing a look over to Jackson.

"You don't suppose he did something absolutely stupid like intentionally blew his cover, do you?" Jackson asked his face contorting into it's 'I'm going to fucking kill someone' look.

"You don't think the ridiculously high temperature after drinking would give it away, that he's not normal?" Bambam said s little sarcastically.  "Anyone would get suspicious of that."

"Considering the idiot could have put himself into a coma this time. That's the worst I've ever seen him." Jackson's frow furrowed as he was inwardly worried about him. "I'm pulling him off this case if he keeps this up. He can't function s a Guardian if his behaviour is this out of control."

"We have no one else to be this guy's Guardian. That's why he couldn't back out of it once he was assigned." Bambam reminded him. "And you know the reason why it's so urgent that we have to protect him at all costs."

Jackson sighed. "What I want to know is how the hell 'this guy,of all guys, becomes  who he does, it's near on impossible, he hasn't got any of the skills or the knowledge needed."

"You're right and I hear you. I can't fathom it either, but people can change, anything can happen. But it is what it is, and he has to remain protected."

Jackson folded his arms and sighed. "I guess, I almost let the cat out if the bag myself earlier, because of the temperature." He paused for a moment. "I'm going to assume Youngjae's said something, to Jaebeom. I'm pissed, but I also know that Youngjae would never compromise his identity without a reasonable explanation. But I'm also getting the vibe that Jaebeom may have already figured something out. He was too quick to stop me from saying anything." 

"Maybe he was just protecting Youngjae from repercussion?" Yugyeom suggested 

"I think so," Bambam agreed. "But, question, does Youngjae actually know exactly who he's protecting?"

"No, even though he asked for this assignment himself, we felt it best not to tell him. The less he knows the better. That information is something I'd rather not compromise.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out then," Bambam sighed before tapping Yugyeom on the arm. "Let's get back to work. We'll catch you later Jackson"

"Yeah, later." Jackson let out a deep sigh. 

He'd just have to trust Youngjae's judgement for now. 

~*~

Youngjae snapped awake from a solid sleep and quickly looked around. 

"You okay?" Jaebeom asked seeing Younjgae turn his head 

"I think Jackson is haunting me in my sleep," he said as he rubbed his eyes.

"Was he dragging you around by your collar again?"

"I'll bet you'd like to drag me around by my collar, if it had a leash attached," Youngjae smirked.

Jaebeom blushed but chuckled this time. "Maybe, maybe not, but even if I did, you'd enjoy it way too much."

Youngjae turned full on to face him in his seat. "Woah, did I just hear that come from out of your mouth. That closet kink of yours just graduated. I may be so proud right now. Not so boring boy just found his sense of humour. I approve of this."

"Why am I not surprised,"  Jaebeom grinned and then yawned 

"We should find somewhere to stop for the rest of the night. You've been driving for five hours straight since the gas station You need your rest," Youngjae insisted

"There's a roadhouse and a motel up ahead," Jaebeom informed him as they passed a sign. "Would it be safe to stop there?" He asked.

Youngjae flicked his watch lid up and pressed a few buttons. Within seconds some weird writing popped up and Youngjae nodded. "Looks like someone did us a favour. We're a day ahead of them. It seems my people managed to throw a spanner in the families works. Also not to scare you. We have four following behind us and two coming from the other way."

"You mean there's six of them after me?" Jaebeom was a little more than shocked.

"Well, technically there's more than six, but the others don't want to dirty their hands if you get my drift."

"Yeah, thanks." Jaebeom sighed.

"Don't worry, the Guardianship basically delayed each group by at least a day or two. We'll only have to deal with two at a time at most. Plus you have me and my watch."

"Am I meant to find this comforting? Because I'm not finding this very comforting,"   Jaebeom sighed as he pulled up into the carpark of the roadhouse motel.

Youngjae reached over and gently touched him on the arm as Jaebeom turned the car off and looked over at the two big brown eyes staring at him firmly. 

"Trust me," Youngjae began, a look of determination in his eyes. "I will protect you, Jaebeom. I promise."

"I don't want you to get hurt either," Jaebeom said, looking affectionately back at Youngjae.

"You just worry about getting some sleep and let me worry about everything else, okay?"

Jaebeom smiled and nodded his agreement. 

"Good! So for now, let's go grab some food and then sleep, I'm kind of hungry."  Youngjae noted as his stomach rumbled as he climbed out if the car.

Jaebeom locked the car up and Youngjae motioned for him to come and stand next to him at the front of the car as he looked around to make sure the coast was clear first.

"You want to see something cool?"

"Sure?"

Youngjae opened his watch and Jaebeom watched as he made a few adjustments.

"Don't watch me watch the car," Youngjae said turning Jaebeom's attention back to it and away from him.

"Now just don't freak out on me. Ready?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Youngjae pressed a button and Jaebeom's jaw dropped as his car changed colour and the number plate changed too.

"Pretty cool huh?"

"Oh my god! Youngjae, that was incredible." Jaebeom said as he tried to fathom the extent of Youngjae's watch of wonders.

"I know, right?" Youngjae quickly looked around again. "Come on We should get inside."

The two of them quickly heads into the roadhouse and grabbed some take-out food first before heading to the motel section.

The night staff looked up as the two young men walked in. "Good evening gentlemen you after accommodation for the night?"

" That's why we're here," Youngjae said with a smile

"Let me just check room availability," he said scrolling up his list on the computer. "Well, you're in luck, kind of."

"Kind of?" Jaebeom glanced over at Youngjae and he shrugged.

"Well, by that I mean we have a room available, but it's a double, not two singles."

"And?" Youngjae continued not even phased, despite the bright red across Jaebeom's cheeks.

"You don't mind sharing? "

"Nope, it's fine we'll take it. He needs to sleep. He's the driver." 

"Eighty-five thousand won for the night. One hundred thousand if you want  breakfast included."

"We'll take it with the breakfast, thanks," Younjgae said pulling out his wallet and paying. "

"Just sign here and it's all set." 

Youngjae signed and the night staff handed him.the key. 

"So, checkout is at eleven am. Breakfast finishes at ten and it's a buffet. Here's your breakfast passes, just hand them in over at the roadhouse to use them and just bring the key back when you're ready to check out."

"Much obliged," Younjgae nodded his appreciation as he headed back out the door Jaebeom tagging along slowly behind.

"I'll go grab our bags, you go check the room out." Youngjae delegated, as they swapped keys.

"What on earth is wrong with you?" Youngjae laughed seeing the semi-stunned look on Jaebeom's face. "Wait a minute have you never shared a bed with another guy before?"

Jaebeom shook.his head.

"Okay, you are an odd one. I thought every guy in the universe shared a bed at least once in their life. Trust you not to be one of them." He chuckled. "Anyway go open up I'll be there in a few." 

"I'll see you there then, I guess,"  Jaebeom said finally finding his voice again.

Youngjae headed to the car shaking his head in amusement as he grabbed their bags out before locking the car up and heading back to the room.

Jaebeom was setting up the food on the small table in the corner when he arrived and he turned smiling at Youngjae as he entered the room

Youngjae threw the bags into the flour and locked the door behind him. "Catch," he said throwing the car keys back to Jaebeom.

Jaebeom put them back into his pants pocket and then sat down at the small table, yawning again as he did so. 

Youngjae headed over to join him. "You look exhausted, you should shower first after we eat."

"Youngjae?"

"Yes?" 

"Thanks," Jaebeom said sincerely.

"What for? I haven't really done much yet."

"For just being here. I'm grateful the Guardianship sent you to me." 

Youngjae smiled at him and placed his hand over Jaebeom's on the table. "Stop talking and eat. Don't make me worry about you any more than I need too. I also don't want to have to drag your naked sleeping ass off the floor of the shower recess either."

Youngjae said it so seriously it made Jaebeom laugh. "Fine. I'll eat shower and sleep."

"That's a good wifey,"  Youngjae said approvingly.

"Okay, no," Jaebeom protested, 'if any one's the wifey. It's you."

"Eat, Im Jaebeom," Youngjae ordered.

Jaebeom laughed and finally did as he was instructed.

There'd be plenty of time to decide who'd be the wifey later.


	26. Chapter 26

After they'd eaten Jaebeom showered first, and then Youngjae, although now Jaebeom had a bit of a dilemma. 

He liked to sleep naked.

It wasn't that he didn't have any pyjamas, he just disliked the fact that they just felt so uncomfortable to sleep in

Youngjae, however, would be sharing the bed with him and he was unsure if it was a good idea.

“Stop stressing about it.”

“What?” Jaebeom whirled around at the sound of Youngjae's voice.

Youngjae stood in the doorway with one towel around his waist and drying his hair with another.

Jaebeom turned back around his face flushed red. It seemed that no matter what the reason Youngjae had him quite self-conscious about himself.

The only thing he could lay claim to was the fact Youngjae had been embarrassed at the thought of him being naked whilst sleeping

“Just because I've never slept naked a day in my life, doesn't mean you have to bow down to my whims and wear pyjamas, just because I might feel uncomfortable. I'll deal with it. To be honest the only reason I don't is because of my job. I really don't want to have to get up and run for it naked during the night.”

“Well, that does make sense.” Jaebeom had to agree. “Maybe I should wear my pjs then. I really don't feel like running through the streets naked while I'm being chased either.”

“Up to you. I'll deal if you want to sleep naked.“ Youngjae grabbed his pyjamas and headed into the bathroom.

Jaebeom sighed, looked at his bag than at the bed. Sighing he opened his bag and grabbed his pyjamas, quickly throwing them on, and then throwing back the bed covers. 

He set an alarm for early morning on his phone, then plugged it in to charge.

Seconds later Youngjae emerged from the bathroom again. 

“What the?” Jaebeom said laughing as Youngjae came out wearing pink pyjamas with cats on them.

“What? These were last years Christmas present from Yugyeom. I happen to like animals. No real ones where I'm from.” he said the disappointment in voice.

“What do you mean no real ones?” Jaebeom asked perplexed by his comment.

“So you know how I'm from the future right?” 

“Yeah.”

“Well, I'm from eight hundred years in the future. We have replicated food, robotic animals and the plants are made of synthetic materials designed by our scientists to keep the oxygen in the air.”

“So we do screw the world up then?”

“Almost.”

“Well that's great, anyway, the Guardian's what exactly are they, besides Guardians, why are they different to say, myself, or Mark,”

“We're a race of Superhumans. Our technology gives us skills that we wouldn't normally have and we were enhanced with improvements, but however, those enhancements induced a flaw in our system, which is why when we drink the past's earth alcohol it gives us such high temperatures, but from which we can survive. Unless you do a dumb thing like me and almost drink yourself into a coma, that will kill you with a temperature of over two hundred, so I'm lucky you called for help when you did.”

“Yeah, please never do that again, by the way. It wasn't very pleasant for me to have to deal with.” Jaebeom sighed deeply

“I give you my word it won't ever happen again. I've had to accept certain things I didn't want to and quicker than I wanted too, but, trust me when I say, I really am fine now, thanks to you.” Youngjae smiled at him softly his voice a little sad. “Letting go of Min Sung was a lot harder than I realised it would be. And I'm sorry again that I put you through that.”

Jaebeom nodded as he rested a hand on Youngjae's arm. “I'm just glad you're okay. it's over and done with and now, I just want this over so I can move on with my life. So what else should I know then, about these abilities of yours.”

“The really annoying thing about them is that certain abilities disappear sometimes when we first come here due to the atmosphere and the gravity being much more normal here now than it is in the future.” He sat on the bed and swung his legs. “Apart from the abilities which work hand in hand with the technology, we're still pretty much normal humans.”

“Normal humans? Could have fooled me, considering my car was a dark red before we got out of it.” Jaebeom grinned as he lay down on the bed looking over at Youngjae.

"You're just jealous because your boyfriend can do awesome things and you can't," Youngjae winked at him as he jumped onto his side of the bed and crossed his legs.

"Woah, hang on, back up a bit," Jaebeom said sitting upright again staring Intently at him. "What did you just say?"

"That you're jealous of my amazing talent," Youngjae smirked 

"You know exactly what I'm asking, you smart ass."

"Well if you already know I'm being a smart ass, then I really don't need to say it again, do I? Unless you're not happy with that arrange..."

Jaebeom shoved a hand over Youngjae's mouth. "A temporary boyfriend is better than no boyfriend. I'm not complaining." He moved his hand away. 

"I just hope for your sake, you can break it off as easily as you've accepted it," Youngjae said as he lay down, rolling over on his side to face Jaebeom.

Jaebeom lay on his side facing Youngjae. "I'm a lot tougher than I look. I'm used to facing losses. My parents, then my grandparents a little later." 

"Hang on, there was nothing about your grandparent's deaths in the files?" Youngjae checked the information he had again, a puzzled look on his face. "You're mother's or your father's parents it's important I know which set."

"My father's," Jaebeom replied looking just as puzzled. 

"Does your family fortune stem from your father side?"

"Yeah, why?" 

"Okay, I need to call Jackson. Something isn't right here," he picked up his phone from his bedside table and called.

~*~

Jackson had just finished filing some paperwork when his phone rang.

"What's up loser? What. No, it should be, what do you mean it's not? That's odd. Gimme a few. I'll find out. Yeah, I'll call you back." Hanging up Jackson looked up and motioned to Bambam.

"Grab your sidekick, we need to go look up something really important for Youngjae."

"Is everything okay? "

"No, not really there's information that should be on Jaebeom's file missing 

'Yugyeom with us. How the hell is it missing?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, but the one thing I do know, is that unless we have a breach of security and protocol this shouldn't be happening," he replied as the three of them headed down to the archives.

From behind them, a pair of eyes watched as they left.

~*~

Youngjae sighed and lay back down, his phone still in his hand.

"What did he say?" Jaebeom asked curiously.

"He's going to look into a few things. He'll get back to me when he has what we need." Youngjae informed him.

Jaebeom sighed and pulled the blankets up over himself. "You know, all I ever wanted was a family I could count on and to be there for me when I needed them. Instead, I get a greedy bunch of jerks who only care about money.”

“I don't care about much either, to be honest,” Youngjae said honestly. “but I do care about keeping you safe.”

“Having you by my side is about the only thing that gives me any comfort right now. I was pretty sure I'd die alone somewhere deep in the countryside f I couldn't shake them.”

“Well, you're not going to die, because I definitely won't let that happen.” Youngjae flicked him on the forehead.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“Being such a morbid drone. Anyway, you should get some sleep. I'll wait up for Jackson to call back. I'll put in my headphones and head outside, so it doesn't disturb you when he calls.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that,” Jaebeom replied gratefully as he settled down into the bed.

The last thing he needed was for the morning to come and he, be exhausted. 

Curling up onto his side, Jaebeom closed his eyes, and hoped that sleep would come to him soon.


	27. Chapter 27

Jackson and the other two were searching through the archives when Jackson motioned for the other to two keep quiet and keep searching while he snuck around the back of another section of the archives and within seconds there was a surprised yell and Jackson had wrestled another of the staff members of the Guardianship to the ground. 

All the commotion sent Bambam and Yugyeom running in the direction of the chaos.

"Why are you following us Kang Min?"Jackson demanded as he dragged the young man up from the floor.

"I'm sorry, Jackson, I, I really didn't mean to pry, but I overheard you guys talking upstairs before, about missing files."

"What do you know about them?" Jackson insisted.

"I saw one of the other new guys down here, right before Younjgae got sent there. He was acting all suspicious so I followed him down here."

Jackson gripped him tightly by the collar. "Go on, I'm listening."

"He came over to this section, first." Kang Min said pointing to the left of Yugyeom.

'"Show us,"  Jackson demanded as he let Kang Min go pushing him slightly forward in the direction he was pointing. "And you'd better not be messing us around, otherwise it'll be the badlands for you!" 

"I swear, I'm not, I promise. Look, here, see?"

Jackson looked through the files. "Then where did they go?" 

"And who was it?". Bambam asked as he and Yugyeom trailed behind them a little.

"It was  Tae Kyung. He had at least five or six files in his arms. He kept looking around to see if anyone was watching, but I kept clear enough from him that he couldn't pick up I was spying on him. And see, here too. And one more place." Kang Min led them around the far back., "Here." 

"Okay, this isn't good. Not only did he take the missing files we need for Youngjae's case, but he's also taken Min Sung and Youngjae's as well " 

Bambam frowned. "Why the hell would he take those for?" 

"Your guess is as good as mine. We need to find out where he is right now and get those files back."  He turned to Kang Min. "You, go tell the boss. You," he said firmly to Yugyeom, "Go with him. Until we know what he's up too, stay together. Got it. If he's stealing files, there's a chance he might not be who he says he is. Stay alert, both of you."

"Yes, sir!" the two of them echoed as they ran off together." 

Jackson turned to Bambam and nodded after them, "I'll call Youngjae back on the way to find Tae Kyung." 

As Jackson pulled his phone out, the two of them headed back up the stairs

~*~

Youngjae had just drifted off when the phone almost deafened his ears. He woke up with a start and quickly got off the bed as he turned his sound down on his earphones and answered his it just as he stepped outside.

"Yeah. What? Are you serious? Why the hell, okay, I get it. You don't think he's selling information do you? Min Sung's and mine? Why the hell would he have ours for too?"

"Alright. Keep me informed. I'm out for the night. Yeah, still a day and a half to go before we hit the safe point. Thanks for letting me know. Yeah, talk to you tomorrow. Ciao."

Younjgae went back inside locking the door behind him, headed back over to the bed and crawled under the covers. Reaching over to turn the lamp down to the bare minimum, he felt that he should at least leave it on overnight in case Jaebeom woke for the bathroom. He also didn't want any unwanted guests turning up and seeing the light, so he made a few adjustments to his watch. A false window appeared and in turn that prevented the light from being seen from the outside.

Turning over he came face to face with Jaebeom, the soft light gently washing over his face. Youngjae studied his face intently and then let out a small and quiet chuckle as he remembered Jaebeom's reaction to him calling himself his boyfriend earlier. 

On one hand, he regretted allowing Jaebeom to become so invested in him, even temporarily, but on the other, he wished he could tell him everything would be fine and they could stay together.

But he couldn't and he wouldn't.

Not only that, he found himself being more and more drawn to this man lying next to him. 

Boring boy had begun to fill the hole that Min Sung had left, but he was fighting it. Leaving behind someone that had passed on was a lot different to leaving someone behind, who was right there in front of your face, and Youngjae wondered if perhaps he'd let his guard down around Jaebeom a little more than he should.

He felt his heart flutter, a little too much for his liking, and as he watched Jaebeom sleeping, he came to the awkward conclusion that Im Jaebeom was far too handsome and that life definitely wasn't fair.

It was a few seconds later when he realised, he wasn't the only one awake now.

"I'm sorry Jaebeom. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It seems I'm not the only one, that needs a line thrown in to bring them back up from the deep." Jaebeom grinned.

"Well, before you even ask, yes I am thinking about you," Youngjae admitted freely.

"Well, I wasn't going to, but,"

"Excellent, then I won't have to complain bitterly to you about how much you're putting me in a very difficult situation, by being so ridiculously sweet, that I can't stop myself from liking you more each day."

"I think you just did," Jaebeom said with a sleepy smile. 

“I know, you deserved it.”

“I can handle the truth,” Jaebeom laughed a little throwing a leg over Youngjae's thighs and his arm across his chest hugging him.

“And just what do you think you're doing?” Youngjae said looking at him quite seriously.

“Making things harder on you,” Jaebeom chuckled, snuggling up closely to Youngjae.

Youngjae gave him a stern look. “This is payback for all my innuendo isn't it?”

Jaebeom chuckled more and kissed Youngjae on the cheek.

“This is going to make it so much harder on you when the time comes for us to part, you realise this don't you?” Youngjae said finally turning over onto his side to face Jaebeom properly.

“I'll deal with it when the time comes. I have you here with me now and I'm satisfied with that.”

Youngjae sighed and looked into his eyes. “Why are you so determined to have your heart so broken by me?”

Jaebeom flicked Youngjae's hair out of his face and smiled softly at him. “Because I don't want to have any regrets after you've gone back. None. And if I don't follow my heart now, I know I'll regret it until the day I do die.”

Youngjae felt his heart skip a beat.

Regrets.

Regrets were the one thing he had too much of. He'd loved Min Sung with his whole heart but not once did he ever say 'I love you' to him. Min Sung hadn't cared and had told him so because he could tell how much he was loved by Youngjae's actions. 

Min Sung had never needed words and Youngjae felt he'd taken that for granted.

Now the guilt Youngjae had carried around for so many years, felt like it had just been carried over. He could never say it to Jaebeom, he knew he was already going to lose him once this was all over and it cut into his chest like a knife. 

Slowly his arm went across Jaebeom's hips and he sighed placing his forehead to Jaebeom's. “How is it, that you can you make a person like you so much, but then want to hate you so much at the same time.” 

Jaebeom gave him another soft smile that made his heart flutter harder than it had the past few times. “I think it's because you care me for me a lot more than you're willing to admit because you know it can't last either.”

Jaebeom's words surprised him a little, but it was true, and being honest with himself for the first time since they'd agreed to this farce, he realised that it was far too late.

Not falling in love with boring boy was no longer an option.

He already had.


	28. Chapter 28

Jackson and Bambam searched the building for Tae Kyung but to no avail. Stopping back at Tae Kyung's desk last, Jackson slammed his hands down on it. 

"You looking for Tae Kyung?" His work partner asked as he can back into the office.

"Yeah, where is he?" Jackson asked keeping his cool as best he could.

"He's finished for the day. Went home about twenty minutes ago, why what's up?"

"Does he seem like he's been acting kind of suspicious to you lately?"

"Not so much suspicious, but he's had his head in a few of the files lately. Said he's been working on a special case."

Jackson and Bambam threw each other a quick glance.

"What special case?"  The two of them replied together in unison.

"I don't know, he wouldn't say. But he was genuinely upset by something in one of those files, that's for sure." 

"What time is he back in tomorrow?" Bambam inquired.

"We're heading out in a job at around ten. So probably in by nine, I'd say."

"Excellent. Thanks, Shin Seong. But just do me one favour?'

"What's that?" Shin Seong asked curiously.

"I don't want him to know we 're looking for him. It's a surprise okay?" Jackson told him.

“Sure no skin off my nose. Anyway, I'm off duty now too. Catch you tomorrow,” he said waving as he headed out of their office

Jackson turned to Bambam. “Find the other two and fill them in. No one is to approach Tae Kyung tomorrow. Leave that to me. In the meantime, once you've found those two and given them my message, we should all go home and get some sleep. Nothing else can be done until tomorrow morning anyway.” The frustration sounded out in his voice.

“On it,” Bambam said taking off out of the office.

~*~

Youngjae awoke to a slap on his backside and a Jaebeom far too cheerful for this early in the morning, for his liking. “Ugghh, stop smiling, you're scaring me. It's way too early.”

“It's seven am. Time to get dressed eat and move on right?” 

Jaebeom's face beamed and Youngjae sighed

“How can you be so cheerful? GAHH!! Stop it,” he demanded as Jaebeom began tickling him.

“You stop being such a grumpy ass and get your butt up,” Jaebeom grinned pulling on Youngjae's toes.

“Ah, that tickles, god 'you' are a menace!” Youngjae said poking Jaebeom in the stomach, then crawling out of the bed and sitting on the edge. “I hope they have decent food here. I've had some food at stops like this that I wouldn't even feed a cyberdog.”

“Ew, that bad huh?” Jaebeom cringed.

“Yeah, that bad. Worse than Bambam's cooking and that's saying something.” Youngjae said rather too seriously.

“Okay, well we won't know until we head there and eat then, so move your sexy ass.”

“Assertive this morning aren't we Im Jaebeom? And god you're already dressed what is wrong with you?”

Jaebeom laughed. “I just figured the quicker we got a move on the more time we could have to get ahead again.”

“Stop thinking. It's hurting my head.” Youngjae said looking up at him with a quick glance.

Jaebeom just grinned and threw Youngjae's clothes at him. “There you go.”

“Pushy much?” Youngjae raised an eyebrow whilst getting up from the bed altogether and heading into the bathroom.

“Excuse me?” Jaebeom said stopping him in his tracks. “Aren't you forgetting something.”

“Don't want much do you?” Youngjae said looking at him with a frown

“I'm waiting?”

“You know, I'm the younger one here. Aren't I supposed to be the demanding whiny brat?',” he said kissing Jaebeom briefly. “There. Happy now?” 

Jaebeom kissed him this time and Youngjae raised an eyebrow at him afterwards. 

“What? One wasn't good enough? Tch, tch talk about taking liberties.” he said shaking his head and continuing on to the bathroom.

Jaebeom smiled as the bathroom door shut rather loudly. He had the perfect way of exacting his revenge.

Youngjae definitely wasn't a morning person. 

~*~

Jackson was first into the office the next morning. He'd made his intentions known to the boss and the boss had given him his blessings after being informed what had happened by the other two the night before. 

He'd made it clear to Jackson that he'd never given any kind of assignment to Tae Kyung of any sort and asked him to make it a priority to get the files back and find out what he was up to.

Jackson was determined to do just that. Bambam and Yugyeom came in just after he had and he informed them of what the boss had told him.

Nine am on the dot, Jackson and the other two began heading towards Tae Kyung's office. When they got there Tae Kyung was sitting there already and the two of them wandered up to his desk. 

“Hey, Tae Kyung how's it going?”

Tae Kyung Jumped at Jackson's voice and quickly hid something under his desk. 

“Oh, hiya Jackson, Bambam, yeah, I'm good, thanks.” He fidgetted nervously as Bambam came closer.  
“Jackson and I need to talk to you for a few minutes,” Bambam began.

“Oh, in regards too?”

“It seems some files have gone missing from the archives, someone told us you might be able to help us in our inquiries.”Jackson continued.

“Files? Who the hell would take files from the archive?” Tae Kyung began to fidget more.

“That's what we'd like to know. You see Tae Kyung,” Jackson said his hands resting on Tae Kyung's desk and bringing his face closer to Tae Kyung's. “We have it on good authority that you know who has them.”

Tae Kyung was out of his seat and over the desk in less than a second. Jackson gave chase, Bambam followed ordering Yugyeom to check Tae Kyung's desk and report anything he found to the boss right away.

Tae Kyung jumped over the side railing of the first floor stairs, rolling up and running off out of the Guardianship's doors and into the streets, Jackson followed suit, Bambam right on his heels.

Tae Kyung ran in and out of the traffic, causing some cars to collide, Jackson, Jumping over to keep up with his target.

“GO AROUND,” he yelled out to Bambam motioning for him to go around the back way and catch up to him at the other section.

Bambam took off the other way without hesitation running down the alleyway and through into the street at the other side. 

“Tae Kyung stopped, and then looked around as he saw Bambam emerge from his first choice of escape route and looked for a second.

If Bambam had of been a second quicker he might have grabbed him, but he missed as Tae Kyung headed upwards towards higher ground. The two boys continued chasing him until finally, there was nowhere left for Tae Kyung to run to. 

“Nowhere to run now Tae Kyung,” Jackson informed him. “Why don't you just tell us what's going on and why you need those files?”

“I've been on a special assignment.”

“Yeah, sure, try again, Kyungy old boy,” Jackson said walking closer to him. “The boss never gave any 'special' assignments out, so we know you've been lying to your work partner?”

“Why did you have all those files? They're Im's family files aren't they?” Bambam said edging closer to him too.

“Not to mention Youngjae's and Min Sung's,” Jackson added.

Tae Kyung gave them a bit of a deranged smirk and laughed. “They got what they deserved, all of them.”

“What the hell are you talking about, at least make sense man?”

Tae Kyung laughed again not saying anymore as Jackson and Bambam lurched forward. 

Tae Kyung lurched forward and Jackson took action pulling Bambam down under a stationary car nearby.

Bambam's face paled as Tae Kyung hit the ground right in front of them, blood oozing out of the small hole from his forehead.


	29. Chapter 29

Wasting no time, Jackson motioned to Bambam to help him drag Tae Kyung's body over, then flicking his watch open, opened a portal and both of them dragged Tae Kyung through whilst on their hands and knees, Jackson closing it after them. Jackson had set the portal to come out at the communications centre of the Guardianship.

Grabbing the equipment of the stunned comms person Jackson sounded the warning.

“We have a code breach, Zero, Omega, Red, Alpha. I repeat we have a code breach, Zero, Omega, Red, Alpha. Go to lock down immediately. Recall all Guardians to HQ, except Choi Youngjae. I repeat, recall all Guardians to HQ except, Choi Youngjae. All Guardians are to head to the conference hall immediately.”

Suddenly the Guardianship HQ was in chaos. 

Metal shutters fell down over the Guardianship HQ sealing everyone who was already there inside the building. All access to outgoing portals were shut down and Guardians began to portal back into the Guardianship conference hall from everywhere.

Bambam's phone went off and he answered. “Yes, sir, it's serious. Yes, sir. Tae Kyung was shot. Sniper, not sure. Yes, we retrieved the body immediately. Yes, sir, I'll tell him.”

“Was that the boss?” Jackson asked. 

“Yeah he wants a cerebral wave imaging scan done,” Bambam said dragging Tae Kyung's body up off the floor. “He'll meet us at the conference hall.”

“You help him,” Jackson ordered the comms person. “Then both of you head to the conference room.

“Yes, sir,” he said grabbing Tae Kyung's legs and helping him carry the body away.

Jackson headed off towards the conference room himself grabbing his phone out as he left.

~*~

Youngjae stood staring at all the food on the buffet table. His stomach rumbled and he smiled. He'd been lucky to have eaten so much real food lately. He felt so spoiled. It was so much better than that replicated junk back home.

Jaebeom walked past him grabbing bacon and eggs and then turned to face him. “You're drooling. It's not very becoming.”

“Hey, I don't want to hear any complaints about my drool from you, thank you very much. If you like me, like my drool end of story.” Youngjae said raising an eyebrow as he finally began to pile his plate up with food. 

Jaebeom finished filling his plate and headed over to their table, watching Youngjae smiling from ear to ear as he piled a second plate up and brought both of them back to the table.

Jaebeom looked at him and grinned. “Hungry huh?” 

“No, this is for my goldfish,” Youngjae said sarcastically.

Jaebeom raised an eyebrow at him.

“What? I live on that awful replicated crap back home. So while I am here, I am absolutely, definitely going to make sure I eat as much as I can before I have to go back.” Youngjae said shoving some food in his mouth and chewing noisily.

Jaebeom watched him and shook his head. “Anyone would think you've been starved for years.”

“Let them,” Youngjae started with his mouthful, “you should pity my starving self too. That replicated shit is disgusting. It's way too healthy. Not nearly enough sugar in the chocolate.”

“Good job then.” Jaebeom drank some of his juice and pointed at Youngjae with the glass in his hand, “You are far too hyperactive anyway.”

Youngjae looked mortified. “I am not. I am just very, fit and active, that's all”

“Ahuh,” Jaebeom said placing his glass down and eating some more of his food.

“You are so hard to please Im Jaebeom, you know that don't you.”

“No, not really. I got my good morning kiss, so I'm happy.”

“Maybe you're just easy then,” Youngjae said with a smirk.

“Haha, funny, you cute little mouse.”

“And why am I a mouse? I am not at all mouse-like, nor am I little.”

“Hmm actually you're probably right, you look more like...” he thought for a second and then laughed at the look at Youngjae's face. He quickly opened his phone and typed something in his browser.

“What are you doing?” Youngjae asked giving him a suspicious look. 

“Yep, you're right, definitely not a mouse,” Jaebeom nodded agreeing with him 

“Thank you,” Youngjae said gratefully.

“You're an otter!” 

“A what?” Youngjae spat out.

“An otter.”

“Why am I a fucking otter?” Youngjae demanded to know.

Jaebeom turned his phone around and showed him the screen, “Every face you've made the past few days, see right there, the same faces, look at them. You're definitely an otter!”

Youngjae looked at the pictures of the otters that Jaebeom had brought up and he looked back at Jaebeom with a look of disdain. As much as he wanted to deny it, the similarities were uncanny.

“Fuck you,” Youngjae shot back, trying not to smile.

“Ahh, I see, you agree with me,” Jaebeom said smugly.

Youngjae threw a napkin at him, bouncing it off Jaebeom's face. “Fuck you again!”

“I love it when I'm right,” Jaebeom smugness was completely showing now.

Youngjae just glared at him. 

Jaebeom threw the napkin back at him. “Ran out of 'fuck yous' then have we?”

“I'm going to get some fruit, because the fruit here,” he said looking at Jaebeom as he stood and began to head back over to the buffet, “is past its expiration date.”

Jaebeom chuckled as Youngjae huffed at him, then walked back over to the buffet, piling another plate up with fruits and pastries before coming back. He shook his head, amused at how much this man could consume as Youngjae shovelled down the fruit as well, before picking up a paper bag he'd grabbed from the room earlier and then shoved all the pastries he had piled on his plate into it.

“What are you doing?” It was Jaebeom's turn to be mortified.

“What does it look like?” Youngjae countered.

“You can't do that it's a buffet, that means, all you can eat while you're here,” he looked around, but luckily, everyone was busy stuffing their own faces rather than bothering to watch them.

“Where does it say that huh?” Youngjae said nodding around the room.

“It doesn't matter where it says it. That's kind of like stealing.” Jaebeom whispered,”

“How is it stealing if we paid for it in our room cost?” Youngjae replied causing Jaebeom to baulk while trying to think of an answer. 

“Um, well...”

“And there you have it,” Youngjae announced victoriously as he shoved the last few pastries into the bag and closed it over. “And even though you've been an awful pest, this morning, I'll be nice and share them with you later.”

Jaebeom laughed out through his nose. “that's 'otterly' nice of you,”

“Seriously do you have to?” 

“What? Are you saying I 'otter' stop with the jokes?”

“If you don't, I 'will' kick your backside, you got it?” Youngjae warned, pointing his finger at him.

Jaebeom bit his top lip,” Sorry, I couldn't help it.”

Yeah, right,” Youngjae gave a sarcastic laugh, but Jaebeom saw the smile that he tried to hide. “Anyway,” Youngjae continued “I'll go hand the key back if you want to put the stuff in the car and get it started.” 

As they left the restaurant, Youngjae turned to Jaebeom. “By the way since when did you stop being so boring? I think I missed something. You've been acting like a stupid normal human being the past twenty for hours.”

“Must be the company I keep,” Jaebeom gave him a sidewards glance keeping a straight a face as possible.

“Are you saying I'm a bad influence.”

“You otter know,” Jaebeom said casually before, taking off straight to the room and, out of Youngjae's reach 

Groaning at the cheesiness oozing from his companion, Youngjae grabbed for him, but missed, then shook his head and sighed as he reached the key return box, placing it into it.

Smiling to himself Youngjae headed over to the car just as Jaebeom shut up the motel room and started heading over as well. To be honest, it was nice when Jaebeom actually came out of his shell.

Throwing their bags back into the car, Jaebeom opened Youngjae's door for him and Youngjae climbed in. “Thanks,” he said with a smile.

“You're welcome,” Jaebeom smiled back, shutting the door and then getting into the driver's side. “To the safe house?” Jaebeom inquired.

“To the safe house,” Youngjae echoed.


	30. Chapter 30

Jackson grabbed his phone out on the way to the conference room. He needed to update Youngjae immediately. "It's me. Yes. All sorts of serious shit. Yes. Don't go to the safe house just yet. It might not be safe," he rolled his eyes, yes, you idiot, of course, I'm fucking serious. Tae Kyung is dead. Yes, dead. We cornered him first thing this morning and he ran. We cornered him again outside the HQ  and he coped a bullet straight through the... Well, you did ask me to tell you. Then next time don't ask. Not that I want there to be a 'next time'. I would have rather there not been a 'this time' either. No, I don't know where you should go. No, you can't. Not until it's been deemed safe." He shook his head, then sighed. "I know and I'm sorry. I really am. I recalled all the Guardians except you. I intend to do a headcount. If anyone else is missing, I'll let you know, because you might need to watch your back. If other Guardians are somehow involved in this shit with Jaebeom’s family, you could be in trouble. Yeah, we've disabled portal functions, except yours. I'll get back to you after the debriefing. Be careful." Jackson hung up his home as he rounded the corner of the corridor and continued into the conference room.

Standing in the doorway he looked into the room and sighed,  the burden of being the 2IC and taking stock of several hundred Guardians would take some doing. 

Resigning himself to that fact, he took a deep breath as he entered the fray. It was just a good job that none of the other Guardian cases were as pressing as Youngjae's because keeping those two safe, was his main priority for now.

~*~

"So, do we have a plan B?" Jaebeom asked as Youngjae put his phone away looking more than just a little stressed. "Since from that conversation, I ascertained that someone is dead and the safe house might not be safe. 

"I working on a plan B, right now. We need somewhere we can hold up until Jackson can sort his end out. The Guardian who had our files is the one that's dead.  But the question is, was he killed by someone that wanted to make sure he didn't talk and reveal his accomplices or someone that didn't want something in the files revealed."

"If the latter was the case then why we're the files even in the archives in the first place,?" Jaebeom pointed out.

"My guess is that they wanted to hide the obvious and where is the smartest place to hide the obvious?" He asked Jaebeom.

"Right in front of their faces of course,"  Jaebeom replied immediately understanding Youngjae's train of thought.

"Bingo. My guess is that somewhere in those files is hidden information that needs to be decoded. But what and why?"

"What if," Jaebeom began, "the person who killed my last Guardian is the same person who killed your Guardian and the same person that attempted to kill my parent's Guardian

"I think I've given you way too much information about everything," Youngjae said berating himself. "However, you have a damn good point."

"Shouldn't we let Jackson know then?"

"I'll send him a message now since he'll be at the debriefing. I'm letting him know, you know about Guardian's. If I get my ass kicked, I get it kicked."

"Hang on, I already knew about their existence so why should you get your ass kicked?" Jaebeom protested.

"Because I still gave you information I shouldn't have." He sighed. "I really didn't want or lie to you, because I like you. Can't really tell them that's the reason. " He paused for a moment. "Oh, but I can blame the fact the past few times Jackson has called we've been unavoidably together in the car. We can't just pull over and stop because we'd lose ground and I can't ignore important calls now can I?'  He smirked.

"Look at you go, you've got it all covered. They say otters are intelligent creatures you know," Jaebeom sniggered.

"Okay, fine. If I actually say it out loud that I agree with you on the otter thing, would you stop?" 

"Nope."

"Didn't think so," Youngjae shrugged, "but it was worth a try."

"You're my otter and that's that," Jaebeom told him firmly, grinning as he did so.

"I'm 'your' otter, huh?" Youngjae snorted out a laugh. "Now you're trying to make me even more fond of you by allocating me the disposition of a cute animal. You're clever, I'm Jaebeom. I'll give you that."

"So my ploy worked then?"

"I never said that!" Youngjae threw back at him.

"But you're not denying it either," Jaebeom said, his eyes remaining focused on the road as he drove.

"This conversation seems to remind me of a similar one, we had a short while ago, only reversed." Youngjae said glancing over at him. "I see you've gotten wise to my little games. Very impressive. I'll need to up my game now that you're keeping up with me.” He sighed. “If we weren't in the position of trying to find a place to hide right now, you'd be in trouble!”

Jaebeom laughed. “Should I be looking forward to that?”

“Yes, not so boring boy, you should! I don't just decide to allow anyone to get that close to me off a whim you know, I, A, actually have to like them and, B, be attracted to them.”

Jaebeom smiled through the blush that rushed over his face. “So, you're finally admitting it? You really do like me a lot more than you said you did?”

“Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. I might hate you for this later when I have to leave. Just remember that.” Youngjae admitted his defeat as he turned to point at Jaebeom menacingly.

Jaebeom smiled glancing at Youngjae quickly. “I'm sure you won't let me forget it.”

“Damn right I won't. I was supposed to come here and work for a few months, not find someone to shack up with, you ruined it all.” His voice was serious and stern.

And then he went quiet so quiet that for a moment Jaebeom thought Youngjae had suddenly fallen asleep until he began to speak again.

“You know, Min Sung was the only other person I ever really felt comfortable around. He really understood me, and how I felt inside. We were going to be together for a very long time. I loved him, but I never told him once before he died. I just felt you needed to know that.” 

“Thank you for sharing that,” Jaebeom replied softly. “That you could share that is enough for me.”

Youngjae turned to study Jaebeom's face and sighed heavily. 

“You okay?”

“I really don't know. You really are a lot like him. It's playing havoc with my heart. I'm not usually this forward and erratic to be honest.”

“We all wear mask's for one reason or another, there's nothing wrong with that. Yours is to protect your self from getting hurt. I understand.”

“You reading me rather well, he used to do the same.” Youngjae smiled softly.

“I'm sorry, Youngjae, I don't mean to stir up old feelings.” Jaebeom was quick to apologise.

“It's fine. It's probably good it's all coming out anyway. Just promise me though, if we get into trouble, listen to what I say, it will help you survive.”

Jaebeom nodded in agreement. “I promise. Every word.”

“Fuck you, by the way!” Youngjae suddenly spat out.

“What why?” Jaebeom asked, puzzled

“For getting me to admit anything, asshole!” Youngjae shot at him crossing his arms and looking straight ahead.

Jaebeom laughed loudly as Youngjae sulked. “You can complain all you like once we find somewhere to go.”

“Fair point.” Youngjae grinned as he stopped his pretence and sat upright. “There has to be somewhere we can go. No safe house will be safe if it's a Guardian that's breaching the code.”

“I mean, there is one place that we could go I just don't know if anyone else knows about it.”

“Oh, where?” Youngjae asked enthusiastically.

“It's an old place we used to go when I was younger. My parents bought the place to go to when they felt they need a break from the family. So there's a chance they might not know where it is. We only used it a couple of times, but on the other hand,” Jaebeom sighed a little stressed, “because it would be part of my parent's estate, they also might. It's a risk factor of fifty/fifty. “

“Your fifty/fifty is better than my 'where the hell could we go', right? And the other thing is, they would assume, that because you know they're after you, you wouldn't be dumb enough to hide there right?”

“Youngjae, You're a genius!” Jaebeom chagrinned.

“I know,” Youngjae smirked. "Except, this was your idea."

"But you were the one who realised that hiding the obvious in plain sight was the thing to do," Jaebeom argued the point

"Good point. I am a genius," Youngjae chuckled

“I'll change the details in the Sat Nav,” Jaebeom said quickly pulling over and reentering their new destination then taking off again.” It could take an extra day to get there just so you know.” he informed Youngjae.

“Hmm. Or we could just leave the car her and I could portal us there?” Youngjae suggested.

“I'd rather not leave the car in case we need it for a fast getaway,” Jaebeom insisted. “Are you sure we can't portal it?”

Youngjae thought for a second he wasn't keen on it, but he decided to tel him anyway. “Weeell, there is a way, that I never mentioned earlier when we were taking about people and small things only going through, but it's risky. I'd need at least an hour to re-calibrate the portal settings on my watch. We're not supposed to tamper with them, but I was taught how to by Jackson in case of extreme emergency, and I guess this is one right?”

“Agreed. I'll take joint responsibility if they say anything.” Jaebeom offered. 

“Remember you said that when and if the time comes thanks!” Youngjae insisted.

“I will,” Jaebeom said solemnly. “I'll stand by your side, no matter what. I promise!” 

“Fuck you again.” Youngjae sighed.

“What now?” Jaebeom asked, a little surprised that he was in trouble yet again.

“I can't stand it when you're so damn sweet!” Youngjae complained. “It makes my heart flutter and then I can't concentrate. Stop it!” 

Jaebeom bit his lip stifling the laugh that wanted to escape. “Sorry,” he said with a slight smirk.

“So you should be.” Youngjae said as he took off his watch and started to unscrew the back. “Now, no more out of you until I've finished this,” he nodded down at his watch. “one setting out of place and we could end up god knows where. Got it!”

“Got it.” Jaebeom grinned, he couldn't help it. 

Even when he was trying to be serious, Youngjae really was the cutest otter ever.


	31. Chapter 31

Jackson briefed the Guardians on their situation and each Guardian had to sign out before they were allowed to leave, and even then only because Jackson personally watched over the sign-out, Bambam, making sure that no one was missed.

Guardians were allowed to leave once Jackson had done background checks and security screenings on each of them, one by one.

By the end of the day, all the Guardians had been allowed to leave. “Jackson checked the register three Guardians hadn't shown up. Tae Kyung and two others.

“Bambam, find out where the hell Hye Shik and Kwan Jii are. I want all the areas around where Youngjae and Jaebeom have been or are heading. Scan for their Guardian implants. I want them found. Now! Yugyeom, go with him, you wanted action, you've got it.”

“Yes, sir,” Yugyeom said dashing off after Bambam.

Jackson scowled as the boss came over and stood by him.

“We need to make sure they're kept safe, Jackson. It's imperative, you know that. I want four of your most trusted men out there on their tails especially if they have turned on us. God only knows what damage the could do if they abuse Guardian powers!”

“Yes, sir. I'll set my men down there on standby. Starting at the safe house.” Jackson walked with him as they headed towards the door of the conference room.

“Keep me informed. I'll go do look into Shik and Kwan's files.”

“Oh speaking of which sir, Yugyeom gave me these.” He held up the missing files. “He found them in a hidden section built into Tae Kyung's desk. “

“Look into it, Jackson. There's got to be something in those files we're not seeing.”

“Yes, sir. Right away,” he said following the boss out of the conference room.

~*~

Youngjae was still fiddling with his watch as night fell. He was getting frustrated rather quickly now. Nothing was going the way Jackson said it should as he tried desperately to finish calibrating the watch to attempt vehicle portal. “I don't get it. He said if I did this it would work, so why isn't it working. UGH!”

Jaebeom felt frustrated for him, this wasn't something he could just take off him and fix for him. “Give him a call. You've been working on that all day. Your lunch is still sitting there next to us,” Jaebeom said the concern in his voice.

“I should have done that hours ago. I'm so sorry, Jaebeom. I've basically neglected you all day since we started out.”

“Don't be sorry, you're doing this for my benefit. Having your company is enough, really.”

“There you go again, being all sweet and soppy.” Youngjae raised an eyebrow at him.

“You love it,” Jaebeom laughed.

“Says who?” Youngjae scoffed.

“It shows in your face,” Jaebeom pointed out. “You go all soft, then you bitch about it playfully while pretending to be all hard and obnoxious.”

“I bitch about a lot of things. And mostly to do with you. And I pride my self on being hard and obnoxious thank you.” Youngjae said shutting his watch lid finally and grabbing out his phone.

“Yo, Jackass, I've been trying to do that thing with my watch for emergency vehicle teleport, but it's not working. Did I push what back in? Ohh, that. I wondered why it wasn't sitting right. Yes, I know that. Yes, you said that too. But I think in light of the circumstances we don't have much of a choice right?”

Youingjae rolled his eyes and sighed at the same time. 

“Give me a break. No Jaebeom doesn't want to leave his car behind. No, he had a good point. Yes, that 'was' the good point. Right. You what? They what? No way? Are you sure? Well as soon as you know let me know. Yeah. Thanks that's appreciated. I can't fight two other Guardians on my own. I'm good, but not that good. What? No!. Gees bite my ass, Jackass. The files? Oh yeah, look for signs of hidden codes in the files. Yes all of them. No, Jaebeom thinks that the last few Guardian's deaths are all linked to one person. I'll explain later. It's complicated, but he already knew about us, well sort of. Right got it! Thanks, Jackass. Much appreciated. Bye.”

Youngjae sighed and sank down in the seat. “Ugh, why did this suddenly get so crazy. Actually, I take that back, it's been this way for years with your family. But why would Guardians get involved? Fair enough, they have something to gain from this, mainly your money, however, Guardians get quite a lot of it, so why? Why have two Guardian's possibly turned. I'm not seeing a reason other than greed. Which is the usual reason, but not for Guardians.” He sighed deeper this time and closing his eyes, tilted his head back. 

“Do we want to leave the Vehicle portalling until tomorrow and call in at the motel down the road for the rest of the night?” Jaebeom suggested.

“I'd rather portal,” Youngjae replied firmly. “We've only got one driver. I can't drive. We know there's four of your asshole family and possibly, but hopefully not, two Guardians. If we stop again they might just catch up and I'm not keen on letting that happen. Not if those two Guardian's are on their side. I just need to do one more thing according to Jackson then we can attempt the vehicle portal,” he said as he opened up his watch again and pressed the overhanging processor backwards. 

A light clicking noise was heard as it sat back into its place and then Youngjae's watch started making a whirring noise and he grinned as it shut down and then restarted itself. “Bingo! We have calibration. Pull over just around that bend there behind those trees. Let's give this a go.”

Jaebeom did as Youngjae instructed him and then turned the car off. “Okay so what do I do?” he asked.

“I'll put the coordinates into my watch and send you to the place first. I'll come through after the car. We won't be far from the place, just outside it, but as soon as you get there move at least ten feet away. I need that much room to move the car. It could land anywhere within that radius and I do not want you getting hurt by me, because, accident or not, I would not like myself very much if that were to happen!”

“Okay got it!” Jaebeom confirmed.

“Right, out of the car,” Youngjae ordered getting out with him and setting the watch for their destination. “Okay,” Youngjae hit a few buttons on his watch and a portal appeared, Youngjae stuck his head through and nodded. Okay, the coast is clear, go! The car and I will be right behind you!”

Jaebeom looked at the portal and then back at Youngjae. 

“Go on, it's okay,” he encouraged Jaebeom who was looking nervously through the hole in front of him. “I promise you, walking through is safe.”

Taking a deep breath, Jaebeom stepped through the portal and his draw dropped a little. There about twenty-five feet away was his childhood family hideaway.

“You might want to move that ten feet now,” Youngjae yelled through, causing Jaebeom to suddenly dash up further towards the house, then stopping he turned to watch for the car and Youngjae

Seconds later it was through and intact and Jaebeom sighed with relief.

Jaebeom stood watching, and now he just had to wait for Youngjae. A minute went by, then two, then three and Jaebeom started to panic. Suddenly a portal appeared to the far left of him and Youngjae dove through onto the ground, the portal closing as quickly as it had opened.

Jaebeom ran over to help him up and stopped in his tracks just before he reached him.

His face turned white and a cold panicked feeling came over him.

Blood.

Blood was seeping through Youngjae's shirt.


	32. Chapter 32

It took a few seconds before Jaebeom could move again and he dropped down by Youngjae's side his heart raced for a different reason this time.

"Youngjae, what do I do? Talk to me here? What do I do?" He fumbled around for Youngjae's phone in his pocket, using it the second he found it. 

“Jackson, please, help. No, I think he's been shot.” The panic in Jaebeom's voice rose the more he spoke. “He was doing me a favour. Yes. No. I don't. Okay." He hung up the phone and within seconds Jackson and the medics arrived. Checking Youngjae over immediately.

"We can't risk taking him back to the Guardianship. Can you get us into that place?" Jackson asked urgently.

"Yeah, follow me, I just have to hope the old key is still there," he said running up to the house and checking frantically around for the key and finally found it, well hidden and out of sight.

By this time Jackson's medics had Youngjae on a stretcher and were bringing him up to the house.

Jaebeom fumbled to put the key in trying to keep his panic at bay and held his breath as he turned it. He heard a click, his relief that it had it had worked, evident in his sigh and he led them straight into one of the rooms.

The medics lay Youngjae onto his opposite side and quickly cut his shirt so they could see the wound and gently inspected it.

"I'll go boil some water and get some towels,” Jaebeom said running out of the room and heading to the kitchen. He found the kettle and quickly checked it.

It was empty.

He filled it up and switched it on, then ran to the bathroom to grab some towels before heading back to the kitchen.

"How's that water coming?" Jackson yelled through the house.

"Not fucking fast enough!" Jaebeom stressed and worried, shot back as he grabbed a large, clean stainless steel pot out of the cupboard, fumbling to catch it as he almost dropped it again. He waited impatiently until the kettle finally boiled, switched it off, shoved the towels over his shoulder, took the pot in one hand, grabbed the kettle in the other and headed back to the bedroom as fast as he could safely go.

They had already pulled the desk over to the side of Youngjae's bed and set up their equipment there. 

Jaebeom put everything down and then seeing the wound Jaebeom finally realised the seriousness of the situation they were in. 

"While you were grabbing stuff, we did a scan of the wound. He's lucky the bullet went straight through his side close to the surface, missing everything vital. We've given him pain killers and a hard sedative, so we can clean and sterilise the wound and the surrounding area."

Jaebeom looked down at Youngjae's unconscious form and bit his lip.  

"This is all my fault," Jaebeom berated himself. “I'm such an idiot. I wanted to bring the stupid car. If we had of just left it, he wouldn't have gotten hurt." The emotion in his voice echoed how guilty he felt about everything.

"Youngjae wouldn't blame you, so stop blaming yourself," Jackson said as he placed a hand on his back. "This guy is pretty much the nicest guy I know. He wouldn't blame you even if it had been your fault."

Jaebeom watched Jackson's face as he spoke about Youngjae. He was genuinely worried and spoke about him with quite a fondness and expression.

"You like him too, don't you?" He probed.

Jackson watched as the medics started to tend to Youngjae and thought about denying it at first, but then sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I do. Always have done. After Min Sung, I thought I stood a chance, but he's told me outright not to ever get my hopes up and besides, I'm not stupid, I can tell he likes you, and you certainly like him. It can't last though you know that don't you?”

Jaebeom nodded. “Yeah, we've talked about it. He's made it quite clear he has to go back once this is all over and his six months are up.”

“And you're okay with that?” Jackson asked sincerely.

“I know I don't have a choice. It's inevitable, but he's here with me now and that's all that matters. Just do me a favour though, please?”

“What's that?” Jackson asked his eyebrows raising in response to Jaebeom's question.

“Once he gets back, promise me you'll stay by his side, and watch over him Jackson, that's all I ask.”

Jackson sighed and nodded. “I will, but that's a long way off yet. We need to get through this ordeal first. We're putting four of my trusted men down here. They're tracking the other two Guardians. For the first time ever, that the boss has allowed us to physically interfere because of the importance of this case.”

“Why the hell is my families case so important, they're just a bunch of greedy ass holes who want to kill me for my money. Time old story that,” Jaebeom scoffed a little.

“Sorry, classified information. I can't say and I don't know everything anyway not until we decipher the codes in the files, You guys were right by the way. There's a lot of information coded in them.” Jackson confirmed with Jaebeom. “The other thing I need to know, is how do you know so much about us?”

“I guess I should come clean. I don't want Youngjae blamed for anything.” Jaebeom replied firmly. “I once encountered someone like Youngjae who got drunk and had the ridiculously high temperature and I had to care for him when my parents were busy. He was mumbling in his sleep and some things slipped out. So I figured out that Youngjae had to be one of them. It was way too similar to be a coincidence. And then Youngjae decided he didn't want to lie to me since I already figured things out. His honesty has been keeping us one step ahead of everything, until now.”

Jackson nodded accepting Jaebeom's story as the truth. “Youngjae said, you thought that the killings could all be related to the same person. We think you're right. We think even as far back as Min Sung's death, it was all related.”

“Min Sung's?” Jaebeom sounded shocked and surprised.

Jackson nodded. “Once the files are decoded, we're pretty sure it will reveal everything, including the mastermind behind this which is why these people are in a hurry to beat us to it. Once we know we'll let you know, but in the meantime, look after the troublemaker,” he said nodding down at Youngjae. “I'll set up a perimeter boundary around the area so if anyone comes close, it will alert you.”

Jaebeom sighed, “Thanks Jackson, I think in any other situation and lifetime we'd be good friends.” Turned to watched the medics as they finished cleaning the wound and he grimaced as Youngjae still unconscious twitched.

“Yeah me too,” Jackson replied smiling.

The medics reached into their kits and pulled out a strange implement waving it over the wound. 

“What the hell is that?” Jaebeom asked peering intensely at the round object they were holding.

“This cleanses the inside of the wound,” Medic one told him. “It will encourage the cells to help the wound to heal and close faster than normal. Two to three days it should take.”

“He's not to move unless it's necessary,” Medic two took over. “You'll need to be near him to help him get around and to make sure he behaves for that three day period otherwise it's going to take longer to heal.”

“Youngjae's been known to ignore medics in the past,” Jackson interjected. “I'm trusting you to smack him down if needed!”

Jaebeom agreed. “Consider him well and truly smacked down in advance.”

“Knew I could count on you,” Jackson said patting him on the back. “He's also going to be a real baby about this. Mainly because it's going to hurt a lot more than usual because of the rate of speed it heals at; so more pain over less time, rather than the regular amount of pain he'd feel over a longer period of time. If that makes sense?”

“Yeah, it does. Wouldn't mind that kind of technology in this time period. Would come in really handy.”

“World, as it is right now, isn't ready for it. Promise me you won't divulge a thing.”

“I promise. You're secret is safe with me.” Jaebeom made a crossing motion over his heart. 

Jackson's phone rang and he answered it. “Hey Bambam yeah, the idiot is fine. No not self-inflicted. Yeah. Gunshot wound. No, not the same gun as the sniper that got Tae Kyung. This was more of an amateur shot, so I'm thinking the family arrived on the scene. Yeah, he's going to be sore for a few days, but he'll live. No, luckily not. Oh, yes, Youngjae is brilliant and smart. The implant scan shows the portalling was conducted after he got shot. Cerebral interlink imaging indicated he ran into the forest and lost them before he portalled. He got shot heading into the forest. Yeah, he made it back to Jaebeom, but obviously passed out due to the shock when he finally came through. No, not much we can do here now. We're leaving him to Jaebeom and heading back once I set up the perimeter alarm. You what. He is? Well shit, he must have been on our side then if that's the case. Are you kidding me? Fuck no. Before we do anything more, research that and I'll see you back at the base. Yeah in about ten to twenty maybe. Okay, thanks.”

Jackson's face looked pale and Jaebeom figured something was more than just wrong.

“What is? What happened?”

“Hye Shik's dead. Looks like he was on our side too. He found out some information and was bringing it back when he was killed. He managed to get it relayed back in a decoded message before he was killed, thank god.”

“What information? Is it about the case? 

“Sorry, Jaebeom, they've classified the information. I can't tell you anything else.”

Jaebeom nodded his understanding as the medics finally finished and were just dressing Youngjae's wound.

“Okay, you guys head back to the HQ,” Jackson ordered the medics. “I'll go set up this perimeter boundary and meet you there.”

Once they'd gone, Jackson turned to Jaebeom. “He should be fine now. Just remember what I said though. And bring the car up closer to the house in case you do have to take off. But hopefully, since this place is so secluded, no one should be able to find you in a hurry. I'll call once I'm done,” he said as he portalled out.

Jaebeom sighed as Jackson left, and he dragged a seat over next to Youngjae, taking his hand in his.

This was all becoming way to real.


	33. Chapter 33

After Jackson had left, Jaebeom had moved the car up as Jackson had instructed him. He was tired and exhausted, but he didn't stop until everything was out of the car and put away.

It was late when he had finished and he went back to check on Youngjae before quickly having a shower and then returning to Youngjae's side. Once he had changed into his tracksuit pants and a loose shirt.

Sitting on the chair next to the bed, Jaebeom began to wonder when his life had become so complicated and he sighed. Why hadn't anyone killed him after his parents had died? It would have been so easy. He couldn't understand how he'd made it this far and still be alive. 

Had the Guardians always protected him this fiercely and why? Why would they? He was only one of the thousands they strove to protect every single day? 

But why was he so special that they would go to these lengths? 

Guardians had died for his family's case.

He glanced at Youngjae's sleeping form, the bandage around his midriff covering the sterile pad across his wound, the guilt kicking in as quickly as the reality of the situation had.

Fighting back the exhaustion he was determined to watch Youngjae for a little longer but sleep pestered him constantly and finally, he nodded off, slumping in his chair and succumbing to its call.

~*~

Jackson went through the files that Yugyeom found once he got back and he was a little stressed out and more than a little perplexed to say the least. He had enough on his plate to deal with and Youngjae being shot was just the icing on the cake.

And now this information had come to light and he was more than just angry. Storming to the bosses office he banged on the door furiously and not waiting for an invitation stormed in slamming one of the files on the bosses desk.

“HOW?” He yelled, “How the fuck is this even remotely possible?” Jackson pointed to the file. 

The boss sighed. “We weren't careful enough, the anti Guardians were large in numbers back then. We had no idea he was one of them.”

“Who else besides you knew?” Jackson demanded.

“The Guardian board knew everything before I did. I only found out because I walked in in the middle of their conversation and they had no choice but to tell me everything.”

“And you didn't tell Youngjae?”

“No, I was ordered not to say a word, they dealt with it in their own way.”

“In other words, you mean that last case of theirs together was a setup? That watch getting caught and falling off that easily would never have happened if the watch hadn't have been tampered with, am I right?”

The boss sighed again. 

“Am I right?” Jackson demanded angrily.

“Yes.”

“So, you let them set Min Sung up.” Jackson felt like punching the wall but kept his cool as best he could. “How could you let them do that?”

“They didn't trust him. I tried to talk them out of it. But he'd previously leaked some of our technology out to the other anti Guardians and that led to the setup. Even though he only did anything the once that was wrong, he was considered a danger to our organisation after that.”

Jackson almost roared with anger. “They still didn't have to do what they did! That was just nasty. They could have just tossed him into the Badlands instead. Isn't that what we're supposed to do? I didn't think we were a pack of murderers.”

“They felt for Youngjae's sake their way would be the best. A clean break. I didn't approve. But I was only a puppet in their hands.”

“They murdered his lover,” Jackson shouted. 

“No, they didn't.” 

“What?” Both of them said their heads whipping over to see Bambam coming into the room another file in his hand, Yugyeom behind him with the other two.

“This is a lot messier and more complicated than we all thought,” Bambam informed them as he and Yugyeom placed the other files down onto the bosses desk.

“According to decoded information in the files. Yes, Min Sung gave out information to the anti Guardians. Yes, the board set him up, but no, he isn't dead.”

“Explain how a guy that got stabbed six times in the vital organs and bled to death in his lover's arms, didn't die?” Jackson said sceptically.

“Yugyeom,” Bambam handed it over to him.

“The setup was a setup.”

“What the fuck?” Jackson said shaking his head.

“Bambam and I have done a hell of a lot of research. The security measures for screening Guardians and members of the board was so much weaker than it is now. Now it's much more controlled and monitored. Min Sung joined three years before he and Youngjae got together. On the board at the time was another Anti-Guardian monitoring the Guardians every single move.”

Jackson sighed, frustrated by all the new information, “Well, shit, this is really fucked.”

“What's really fucked is this,” Yugyeom began, “he was Min Sung's older brother. Tae Kyung was also an anti Guardian, he was Min Sung's cousin. Min Sung's brother warned him about the set up, So they sent Tae Kyung and another Anti-Guardian also related to the Sung’s, to the past to cause some trouble and then recommend Youngjae and Min Sung's team for the job. While he was there to cause said trouble, he ran into our elusive disappearing 'Guardian/anti-Guardian and one of guess who's relatives while there?”

“You're fucking kidding me? Right? Please tell me you're joking?”

“Nope. Your train of thinking is right. Im Jaebeom's”

“This is fantastic, this is,” Jackson grunted.

“This is only the half of it. The first Guardian we sent there was also one of Min Sung's relatives. It turns out that while off duty and visible, he met and befriended Jaebeom's uncle, this is where everything starts.”

“Fine just get to the point.” The boss ordered.

“I'm getting there, boss, sorry. So, the uncle was jealous of his brother's status in the family and in love with Jaebeom's mother. Uncle found out about Min Sung's relative's skills by accident and then offered Min Sung's relative a pile of the cash and asylum in the past, to top Jaebeom's father so he could wheedle his way in and marry his mother later, then the plan was that she and Jaebeom would have an unfortunate accident and the money would then be distributed to the rest of the family.” 

Jackson sighed. “Nasty bastards!”

“So, Min Sung's relative hatched a plan, he got drunk and injured himself intentionally in order to get brought back to our present and away from Jaebeom's family then disappeared again.”

“That's how Jaebeom found out about Guardian's. That was the Guardian he told me about. I'll explain later,” Jackson added quickly seeing the bosses glare.

“Yeah, but the accident that was supposed to kill only Jaebeom's father, killed them both, leaving Jaebeom alone and being raised by his father's parents. Who then were killed by their own son, to get to Jaebeom. But not long before that his grandparents got smart, they figured out what was going on and sent Jaebeom abroad to study for his own safety. They got double smart and froze the accounts until he was twenty-four.”

Yugyeom took a deep breath and continued. 

“If anything had happened to Jaebeom the accounts would have remained frozen for twelve months and then the lawyer was authorised to distribute the money to various charities. So it was in their best interest to keep Jaebeom alive and wait until he came back before playing up again.”

“Which is what's happening now?” Jackson sighed.

“Correct,” Bambam interjected. It's why the last Guardian of Jabeoms died while trying to get the extra information we were hoping to find.”

“So, getting back to Min Sung’s relatives meeting people, somewhere in all the madness, and many years later, just before the double set up,” Yugyeom continued, “Tae Kyung got sent to the past and ran into his relatives and Jaebeom’s uncle, as they were together and told them what was going on. So they devised a plan in order to 'kill' Min Sung,.” 

“Jesus fucking christ this is insane,” Jackson said running his hands stressfully through his hair.

I agree,” the boss said, “I had no idea myself this other stuff was going on at all.”

“Well, once Tae Kyung came back from his 'mission' he informed Min Sung's brother of their plan and the board members were reassured that Min Sung would be 'taken care of'. In the meantime, anti-Guardian medics were hired by the brother into the Guardianship to carry out the rest of the plan.” Bambam did you want to continue?”

“Sure, go take a break. You've worked hard on this.” 

Yugyeom thanked him and then excused himself leaving Bambam to continue. “Turns out they were quite clever. Right before the mission and unbeknownst to Youngjae, they placed a light protective body suit under Min Sung's clothing. Then around the areas where the vital organs were, they attached thin layers of synthetic skin bags with blood in them over the bodysuit and then on top of that a layer of synthetic skin was placed. So when Min Sung was stabbed, it went through the synthetic skin, but not the protective body suit.” 

Jackson made a face, “That's brilliant, sneaky, but brilliant and I'll bet in order to make it look like he died, Min Sung had an XD67 tablet on him.”

“You got it,” Bambam nodded. “He took that and of course it put him into temporary stasis and his heartbeat and pulse couldn't be detected, but even before that moment, what happened was, Youngjae and Min Sung's actual case turned up at the warehouse because as part of their plan, Min Sung had told him to meet them there, that way it would look like he died in the line of duty doing his job and Youngjae would be none the wiser that it was a set up.”

“I heard Youngjae went ballistic and beat the fuck out of one of the guys and the other one was knocked out completely?”

“Yeah, pretty sure the other guy was Min Sung's relative that ended up beaten to a pulp, but he ended up in the badlands once the other Guardian's saw he had sided with Jaebeom's family and found out what he was getting in return. Lucky we were able to convince the police due to document manipulation that we were from FBI and had been chasing the guy for a while and took the anti-Guardian into custody, before tossing him out to the badlands.”

“So, in the end, just to summarise,” Jackson interrupted. “Min Sung, his brother and the medics faked his death, his death certificate, faked his funeral and sent him back to the Anti Guardians before disappearing himself. Am I right?” 

“Absolutely and then the old board was disbanded by the foundation after the whole Min Sung incident and a brand new one instated.”

“Yes, that's true,” the boss confirmed

“So, did Min Sung actually love Youngjae?” Jackson inquired?

“Nope, he was using him. He only got to know Youngjae, because he knew that being the top the Guardian, Youngjae's skills and information was of a higher level than his. Youngjae was being played. He had no intention of making a life with him.”

“That fucking asshole! Youngjae dedicated himself to him. I swear if I see him again, I will kill him!” Jackson snapped, then threw a glare at the boss too.“ He played both you and Youngjae.”

“Yes I see it now,” the boss said rather sheepishly.

“So, then, my next question is, who the hell knew all this?” Jackson snorted

“Hye Shik. It was he who encoded the information into the files. He'd found out about all this pretended to side with them and encoded the information as soon as he had a chance. Then when he found out that Min Sung was still alive he sent us the information regarding that and told us about the encoding just before they killed him. We never got the chance to tell him we'd already found out about the files.”

“I'm guessing Tae Kyung stole the files because he must have seen Hye Shik with them and put two and two together.” The boss said as he folded his arms.

“No doubt,” Bambam agreed. “So what do we tell Jaebeom and Youngjae?”

“Nothing.” Jackson insisted.

“We tell them nothing.”


	34. Chapter 34

Youngjae stirred and slowly his eyes opened. He yelped as the pain hit him and Jaebeom jolted back into wakefulness.

"Youngjae," Jaebeom knelt by the side if the bed. 

"Jaebeom?" 

"Youngjae," Jaebeom repeated grabbing his hand in his and rubbing it. "Thank god you're alright. 

Youngjae squeezed his hand. "Those bastards caught up to us. They must have driven none sto... ahh, shit this hurts." His hand went to his side instinctively. 

"I'm so sorry, Youngjae this is all my fault. If I hadn't wanted to bring the damn car."

"Stop talking for two seconds and find me some painkillers," Youngjae grunted through the pain.

"Oh shit, I don't think they..." He paused as he looked around to see a long white implement on the desk, next to it was a note. Jaebeom got up and grabbed it, reading it quickly. 

It was from Jackson.  

"Is this it?" Jaebeom asked showing it to Youngjae. “He must have come back when I was in the shower. It wasn't here earlier.”

"Yeah, that's it," Youngjae confirmed.

"Jackson says in the note, there's three days worth there." Jaebeom told him.

"Perfect, would you mind?" Youngjae asked as he held his hand out.

Jaebeom handed it to him and Youngjae took off the cap placed it down onto his skin, pressing the top of the painkiller down. Jaebeom watched, fascinated as a burst of green light shot out of the end. His skin glowed bright green for a moment and then faded as if it had been sucked into Youngjae's body.

Youngjae placed the top back on and put it under the pillow.

"Okay, that’s much more bearable, damn shit makes you drowsy through." Youngjae managed a smile. "Anyway, you can stop blaming yourself. I decided to agree to bring the car through, because as you said, it probably would be better to have it nearby. And now I'm glad I did. This fucking hurts and if we need to make a fast getaway, we have the car."

Jaebeom sighed. Even though Youngjae told him not to blame himself, he really couldn't help it.

Youngjae could tell that Jaebeom still wasn't convinced and he sighed. "Okay, it happened, as it does in this type of work, but if you want to insist on taking the blame, then do it, but move on. No point in being upset and guilt-ridden. We don't have that luxury right now. So just take a deep breath in and then deal with it. Got it?" Youngjae said firmly."

Jaebeom nodded as Youngjae held his hand tightly. It made sense to do exactly that. 

"I'm sorry I just..."

"There you go again, apologising. If you're that sorry, then how about feeding me. I'm pretty hungry, and I want to eat before I crash again. You can make it up to me that way. Deal?" He smiled through his pain. 

Jaebeom sighed again.

"Hyuuunng, pleaase!? I'm hungryyyyyy." Youngjae started in a cute voice. Make me some non-Bambam tasting food."

Younjgae pouted like a kid who'd had his candy taken away and Jaebeom finally smiled. “And there you go again calling me hyung when it suits you. Fine, I'll go make you something to eat. Stay on that bed and don't move. Three days Jackson said you needed to lay still for, that's all and you'd better, or I'll ask Bambam to come and cook in my stead.”

“Now that's a threat if ever I heard one.” Youngjae said as he made a horrified face.”

“it's not a threat, Choi Youngjae. I mean it! You move and it's Bambam food for you,” Jabeeom said pointing at him as he left the room.

Youngjae smiled to himself. 

At least now Jaebeom had stopped beating himself up.

~*~

Jackson sat at his desk going through all the information they now had. The only thing they still hadn't found was who was the main ringleader of this whole affair Was it Min Sung's brother or Jaebeom's uncle. Or was it both, and why, if it were both, would they be working together. 

Jackson sighed, his frustrations rising as he threw himself back on his chair and slammed his fist on the desk. He ran his fingers through his hair and thought through the reasons why they would possibly work together.

Suddenly with a grim look on his face, he shot out of his seat and headed to Bambam and Yugyeom's section of the office. 

“You two, with me. Bosses office, now!”

Without hesitation, the two of them ran after Jackson, who had continued on his way after calling them to attention.

Jackson knocked on the door and this time waited for the call to come in before doing so. He never even gave the boss a chance to ask him what the visit was for before he started to speak. “ Jaebeom's father owned a technological engineering company before he died. Jaebeom inherited the business but has someone else he can trust running it. If anything happens to Jaebeom, it goes to his uncle, along with all the other assets Jaebeom's father owned.”

“And good evening to you too Jackson,” the boss said looking up from his paperwork.

“So who would benefit if Jaebeom's uncle got his hands on it? Not him, he's a useless git who only cares about money and who can't even shit on his own, let alone know what to do with technological information of that calibre.”

“Thank you for sharing that Jackson, can you get to the point. It seems to have been elusive all day,” the boss sighed.

“I think Jaebeom's uncle and Min Sung's brother are working together, to try and kill Jaebeom.”

“Yes and?” 

“Anti Guardians feel that we are basically the bad guys and should not be allowed the ability to travel back in time, just to protect people, even if they are meant to play an important part of history. If Jaebeom's uncle were to succeed in his plan and the anti Guardians were to get a hold of all that technology from the past right now, think about what could happen.”

The boss crossed his arms and let out a sigh. “True, that wouldn't be good at all. We need to find Min and Ho Sung before this gets any more out of hand than it already has. I’ll send someone from special ops to infiltrate the anti Guardians. We can't afford to waste time.”

“What happens if we don't stop this all from happening?” Yugyeom asked inquisitively 

“The Guardianship as we know it will cease to exist.” Jackson turned to face him an ominous look over his face.

“Forever.”


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this weekend you may have noticed I was rather quiet in the writing front. That's because here in Australia some of us ahgases decided to run the first ever GOT7 Birthday event for our lovely sweet Jackson Wang at certain bubble tea places around the country.
> 
> Well, my friend and Perth co-rep posted pictures of the decorations around the store we held the Perth event at, on her Instagram and tagged Jackson in it. Well, would you believe Jackson saw the pictures and along with some other birthday wishes he had gotten, took ours and reposted it with some of the others in a slide show on his IG STORY. 
> 
> What an honour it was for us as his fans to have Jackson be so grateful that he did that. Jackson senpai noticed us <3 I may have cried!
> 
> In fact, I may be crying right now just thinking about the honour haha! It seemed like we were dreaming at the time but, it's true every word. Thank you, Jackson we love you!

Youngjae sat waiting for his food to arrive. Jaebeom had helped him to sit upright and he was rather excited as Jaebeom could be heard pfaffing around in the kitchen. 

It must have been at least a good half hour before he heard Jaebeom making his way back down the hallway.

The pain in his side was still there, but at least, with the medication Jackson had brought, it was manageable for now.

As Jaebeom rounded the corner, Youngjae's eyes lit up and he eyed up the tray full of food intently. The aromatic smell was enough to make his stomach rumble loudly and his mouth salivate.

"Wow," Jaebeom began with a chuckle, as he heard the loud noise that was Youngjae's stomach protesting, the length of time it took for him to return with food, "anyone would think that you never ate the way your stomach's carrying on."

Youngjae shrugged. "It likes your food better than anyone else's, obviously. You should think yourself privileged."

"Right..." Jaebeom shook his head as he pulled the chair closer to Youngjae and handed it to him.

Youngjae reached out to grab it. "Shit," he yelped, his hand hovering over his bandage.

"Plan B," Jaebeom found himself saying as he held out food in front of Youngjae's mouth. "Open," he ordered.

Youngjae looked at Jaebeom with raised eyebrows as he wiggled the food in front of his mouth and then slowly opened his mouth allowing Jaebeom to feed him.

"Why do you have to be such a damn good cook as well as a really sweet guy?" Youngjae asked after his first mouthful. 

"Well I don't know why I'm such a sweet guy, but, my mother taught me to cook before she died," Jaebeom replied as continued to feed Youngjae. "I use to love watching her make things, even though back then we had a cook, she would still go into the kitchen herself and just cook, whenever she wanted. I'd follow her because her cooking always smelt and tasted so good. So she started teaching me, and I just picked up her talent I guess, maybe it's because of her too, that I'm am a sweet guy, who knows?”

"She sounds like she was a wonderful mother," Youngjae began softly, "I think she'd be proud of how you turned out. It's not often you see anyone drop their own money on the ground, then pretend it's not theirs to help out an old lady out because she wanted a specific jacket for her husband's birthday."

Jaebeom stopped feeding him momentarily, leaving Youngjae with his mouth open as he waited for the next mouthful.

"So it was you who brought me all that food?"

"Yeah, guilty as charged," Youngjae said with a grin as Jaebeom finally gave him more food. "I'm surprised you didn't realise that when you realised it was me who pushed that stuff over, " Youngjae said after he'd finished the food in his mouth.

"I had my suspicions, even after you told me it wasn't you.” Jaebeom grinned.

“I wasn't about to let you starve. What you did for that old lady, was really sweet, and from what I heard while I was invisible, that wasn't the first time you'd gone without your lunch because you gave your money away. You're thoughtful, kind sweet, caring and considerate and mphh...” He ended up with a mouth full of food as Jaebeom stopped him from continuing and he threw him a puzzled look as he chewed.

The blush on Jaebeom's face said everything and Youngjae kept quiet as Jaebeom continued to feed him until he had finished.

“That was really good food Jaebeom! Thank you, for that, and for looking after me. It seems that our roles have been switched a lot. I do dumb things and you end up taking care of me, ”Youngjae said as Jaebeom got up to take the tray out.

“Well this time it wasn't your fault, and it's fine, really,” Jaebeom smiled as he left the room. “I don't mind at all.”

Youngjae sighed and watched him leave, it was getting harder and harder to deny to himself that he wouldn't miss Jaebeom after he went back and he hated it.

He could feel himself starting to get drowsy, the medication had really started to set in. 

“Jaebeom,” Youngjae called out to him.

Within seconds Jaebeom was by his side, “What's wrong? Do you need more pain killers?” He asked as he came back into the room.

Youngjae shook his head. “The medication, it's finally kicking in. Would you mind helping me lay back down, please?”

“Of course,” Jaebeom smiled at him. “Here give me your hand. Can you slide down”

“Yeah, aahh shit!!” Youngjae cursed as he twisted the wrong way attempting to grab Jaebeom's extended hand.

“Careful,” Jaebeom said grabbing his free arm and steadying him at an angle so that he could slide down into the bed a little more easily.

Finally, Youngjae was on his side and Jaebeom settled himself in the chair again.

“No,” Youngjae began as Jaebeom gave him a questioning look.

“No?” Jaebeom echoed.

“No,” Youngjae repeated, “it's late and you need to not sleep in a chair. You need to get some decent rest too.”

“I really don't want to leave you alone,” Jaebeom protested,

“Who said you had to?” Youngjae said patting the bed beside him. “You can even sleep naked.” He wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Cute Choi, cute. You just want to see me naked.” Jaebeom gave a light chuckle.

“What ever gave you that idea,” he said smirking for a moment and then suddenly he seemed a little lost, frightened even. “But to be honest,” Youngjae said quietly, “I don't want to be alone right now either.”

Jaebeom noted the tone in Youngjae's voice and he found himself gently pushing the hair off of his face. “I think this is the first time I've seen you like this. It's okay to be scared. I'm scared, okay that's a lie, I'm actually fucking terrified. So if you want me to stay with you I'm quite content too.”

“Please,” Youngjae smiled, “I'd really appreciate it.”

“I'll be back in a minute,” Jaebeom said, as he gently kissed Youngjae on the forehead and headed to his room.

A few minutes later he came back in his dressing gown and smiled. Youngjae had managed to shift himself to the other side of the bed to make room for him and then had obviously fallen asleep. 

Taking his dressing gown off and placing it on the end of the bed, he crawled naked, into the bed next to Youngjae, carefully, so as not to wake him again.

Flicking a switch above the bed head, the lights went out and he rolled onto his side so that he was facing Youngjae. 

Jaebeom could just make out Youngjae's face in the low light of the moon creeping through the curtains and he smiled. Youngjae was so very pretty and he wondered what had made the younger man want to become a Guardian.

He yawned and decided to ask him later when this was all over. 

Right now Youngjae was right.

Some decent sleep was definitely in order.


	36. Chapter 36

Jaebeom woke up with a start at some ungodly, 'still very dark outside hour', to Youngjae whimpering loudly in his sleep. 

Sitting upright, Jaebeom tapped the night light above him and looked down at the restless young man. Jaebeom sighed, poor Youngjae was sweating profusely and shivering. There was no telling how long Youngjae had been whimpering and sweating for before it had woken him up, but considering how he looked right now, it must have been a while.”

Jackson had mentioned this might happen and what he'd need to do if it did, just before he'd left to go back to the Guardianship HQ.

Getting up quickly, he ran through the house naked, grabbed a bowl and filled it with water, grabbed a clean washcloth from the bathroom and headed back to the bedroom. He placed the stuff onto the bedside table, wet the cloth, squeezed out the excess then gently began to wash down, Youngjae's half-naked body.

Youngjae stirred and his eyes opened as he felt the coolness of the cloth against his skin. It took him a few seconds before his eyes focussed on his surroundings and the first thing he saw was Jaebeom, completely naked in front of him. Youngjae couldn't help but look him up and down, Jaebeom was definitely a greek god in Youngjae's mind: those biceps, the six pack, well hung too. He said nothing and went back to watching the concentration, on Jaebeom's face as he continued to cool down his body with the wet cloth.

It wasn't until the cloth was a little too warm, and Jaebeom went to resoak it, that he noticed Youngjae was awake and watching him.

"I'm sorry, Youngjae, I didn't mean to wake you, Jackson instructed me to do this if you ended up feverish."

Youngjae shook his head and gave him a weary smile. It's fine." 

"I don't have a thermometer here, but you're really hot. I'm guessing it's nothing as bad as when you drink, but, it's still quite disconcerting."

Youngjae went to move, regretting it the instant he did.

Jaebeom grabbed the pain killer straight away and administered it to him. He'd remembered how Youngjae had done it earlier and it had been at least eight hours since he'd had a dose, so he figured it safe to do so.

Jaebeom could tell by the unusual silence, that Youngjae was obviously exhausted, due to the pain being so bad in between doses. He continued washing Youngjae's chest down, before moving the sheets back and starting on his legs and feet. Jackson had left him only in his underwear earlier because he knew what to expect, that and the fact that he was lying on his side, also made washing and cooling the younger man's back down easier.

"I'll leave the side you're lying on. I know you can't roll on your back because of how the bullet went through," Jaebeom said as he washed down Youngjae's thighs and calves. Then once he'd finished the first washdown he started a second.

Youngjae drifted in and out of sleep as Jaebeom gently and carefully washed down his body a second time and then a third, and finally a fourth, only opening his eyes again fully once he'd registered that Jaebeom's gentle touch had ended.

"Thank you," he whispered, grateful for Jaebeom's kindness in taking such good care of him.

Jaebeom gently pushed the hair off Youngjae's face. "You're welcome," he smiled, as he lay back down next to him.

Youngjae found himself looking into Jaebeom's kind eyes and he managed something akin to a smirk. "Your naked body is amazing. I just thought I'd let you know that."

Jaebeom chuckled, "So that's what you were so intently staring at beforehand?"

"I'm not denying it," Youngjae replied honestly. "I kind of expected it to be gorgeous, but now that I've seen it, it really is something to be admired."

Jaebeom blushed. "You just worry about getting some more rest. My 'amazing' body and I will be right here by your side. You'll have plenty of time to appreciate it later."

Youngjae smiled at him softly, "Would it be too forward of me if I asked you to hold me? I'm feeling a little lost right now. I've never actually been shot before. It's definitely a scary feeling."

"If it wasn't for the fact I see the sincerity in your eyes, I'd say you were milking it just so you could touch me,” Jaebeom surmised"

"That too," Youngjae winked.

Jaebeom laughed a little, but slid closer to him, being careful not to bump him for fear of aggravating his pain. He placed his arm over Youngjae's waist, avoiding the wounded area altogether.

Youngjae reciprocated the gesture and sighed, deeply and contentedly as he looked into Jaebeom's eyes. His heart began to race quite fast and he realised just how much he'd fallen for Jaebeom.

"Damnit, Im Jaebeom. Why did I decide to pick you to watch out for?" Youngjae complained. "He'll be an easy case to handle, I said to Jackson, then, he's boring, I said not long after, then I tried desperately to get out of it, but now look at me. I've totally gone soft! You've managed to ruin me. I'm so frustrated because all I want to do is hold and kiss you all the damn time, despite my standoffish pretence. And right now, at this very moment, I really am so damn pissed off that I'm incapacitated."

"Why?" Jaebeom asked despite the crimson colour his face had gone.

"Because, you handsome, distracting work of art, I want to get completely naked with you and have you fuck me senseless."

Jaebeom suddenly found himself looking a little more than just red around the cheeks. "Well that was brazenly honest," he replied, quite surprised by the very forward admission.

"I know I mentioned wanting to be intimate with you before we got here, but, I wanted you to know that I was being serious," Youngjae told him sincerely.

Blushing still, Jaebeom moved in closer, kissing the younger man and Youngjae didn't protest as Jaebeom's lips captured his own in a sweet lingering kiss.  

As their lips parted Jaebeom smiled at him. "Since we're being honest about our feelings, I need you to know that I'm very much in love with you. I really will have a hard time when we have to part ways, but I want you to know, that I regret nothing. I'm glad you came to me."

Youngjae's hand gently touched his cheek. "Promise me when the time comes for us to part ways, you won't make a scene, that we'll part and both know that what we had was extremely special, even if only for a limited time and be satisfied with what we shared."

"You're the type that cries at farewells, aren't you?" Jaebeom softly smiled as he touched Youngjae's cheek

Youngjae's embarrassed laugh gave it away. "This won't be just a normal farewell, Im Jaebeom. The enjoyment I get whilst patting puppies is nothing compared to how pathetically attached I am to you.

"Choi Youngjae, are you actually admitting that you're in love with me?" Jaebeom pressed.

Youngjae looked at him.and snorted.

"Fuck you!"

Was all he said.


	37. Chapter 37

Jackson sat at his desk with his head in his hands. He was particularly stressed out over the events of the last twenty-four hours. So much for the speech about things were more secure. Another anti-Guardian had still gotten into the headquarters.

He'd upgraded security himself this time and ran background checks on everyone, including Yugyeom, he couldn't risk another anti-Guardian getting in and since Yugyeom had entered the Guardianship six months after Tae Kyung, he had to be thoroughly sure.

After Min Sung's supposed death, they changed all the rules and Tae Kyung was lowered to trainee status, even though he had already been there for a year at the time of Min Sung's supposed death. In order to become a fully fledged Guardian, you now had to go through five years of intense training before being allowed to go on high-class cases. 

Until that time you were considered 'new' and could only go on basic cases. 

Yugyeom had almost six months left before he could go through the assessment to become a fully fledged Guardian and Jackson couldn't afford another stuff up. Not on his watch. 

The boss had given Jackson full jurisdiction over the issue now, and it made Jackson feel better about the security, but even more, because if anything did happen and another anti-Guardian were to get in, it would be on his head.

He was so lost in thought that he failed to notice Bambam waving a hand in front of his face.

“Sorry, I was thinking,” Jackson apologised.

“I could see. Have you heard how Youngjae is?” Bambam asked.

“No, I haven't called Jaebeom yet, but I will. I just need to finish these new procedures for security and then take them to the boss for his approval.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Bambam inquired.

“Yeah,” Jackson began glancing over toYugyeom. “Make sure he keeps out of mischief. And keep looking into where that damn Min Sung might be hiding. Hell knows what he and his brother are up to now!”

“Got it, I'll get Yugyeom to help out too, that should keep him out of trouble.” Bambam chuckled.

“And away from explosives,” Jackson added with raised eyebrows.”

“I wouldn't worry about that any more, boss already put your motion through to the board and they accepted it no question.” Bambam informed him.

“That probably because the little shit, blew up stuff he shouldn't have!” Jackson reminded him.

“True,” Bambam agreed as he headed back towards his desk. “I'll let you know what we find.”

“Thanks,” Jackson gave him a grateful smile as he put his head back down and got back to work.

~*~

Jaebeom woke up to a loud yelp and quickly went to Youngjae's aid. “What the hell are you doing?” Jaebeom asked as he quickly stopped Youngjae from getting up from the bed.

Youngjae looked at Jaebeom and screwed up his face. “I need the bathroom. Badly!” 

Jaebeom got up from the bed. “Why didn't you just wake me?”

“You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to wake you,” Youngjae replied as Jaebeom checked his wound. 

“You need to be careful if you move too much it'll not heal properly. You were lucky this time, it hasn't affected it. But next time you might not be so lucky! Wait here. Jaebeom headed out of the room and Youngjae eyed him up as he left the room wondering if Jaebeom had forgotten in all the excitement, that he was still naked.

Not that he minded. Although he decided he probably shouldn't joke about being well hung any more. Jaebeom definitely beat him in that department. “Ah why did I have to go and get shot, damn it,” he sighed to himself quietly.

He heard something going in another part of the house and then Jaebeom returned with a wheelchair. “what the hell is that?”

“What does it look like?”

“Why, why do I have to use that 

“Because you are not supposed to be moving around Choi Youngjae! I know how you like to ignore the medics, Jackson told me. But guess what buddy? Not on my watch. You will do as you're told until you have recovered. Understood?”  
Woah,” Youngjae began as Jaebeom told him in no uncertain terms how things were going to be. “Yep, you were right, you are the bossy one!”

“I mean it!”

“Okay, okay. I'll behave, for now!”

“Good. Okay now let me help you up,” Jaebeom gently helped Youngjae up from the bed and onto the wheelchair. Youngjae grimaced, a lot, because when he moved it hurt like hell.

“How often can you have this stuff that Jackson left behind?” Jaebeom asked him.

“Every eight hours is usually sufficient, but where there's a lot of pain sometimes, then it's okay to have it every four hours.” Youngjae let him know as he finally got into the wheelchair.

“Right then,” he said grabbing it again and giving Youngjae some more. “There you go. Let's see how the pain goes after this dose, and if you need more in another four hours then so be it.” Jaebeom smiled as he pushed Youngjae to where the toilet was. 

“Um, so how are we going to do this?” Youngjae asked as Jaebeom helped him out of the chair and into the toilet.”

“Ahh, I guess you can't pull your underwear down, can you?” Jaebeom found himself blushing.

Youngjae gave a slightly embarrassed huff and shook his head. 

“Okay, I'll close my eyes,” Jaebeom told him as he grabbed the top of Youngjae's underwear, then closed his eyes, dragging it down over his knees.

Youngjae bit his lip and was quite grateful that Jaebeom couldn't see the slight erection he had at the moment, due to his touch. It would be rather embarrassing for him at this point in time for Jaebeom to see him like this.

Jaebeom stood there eyes closed, waiting for Youngjae to finish. His face was also a little red with embarrassment.

“Okay, I'm finished,” Youngjae let him know.

“Okay,” Jaebeom noted as he felt around for Youngjae's underwear and gently pulled them back up, before opening his eyes and helping him back into the wheelchair.

You know,” Youngjae began why you bothered closing your eyes I have no idea, You're stark naked, so why would I be embarrassed if you saw mine?”

Jaebeom opened his mouth to try and formulate an explanation of some kind and failed. “Good point, but anyway, it's just gone six am. I'm still exhausted and those bags under your eyes say the same about you.”

“If you're suggesting we get more sleep, I won't argue. I'm pretty sure we're safe here for a while at least. I just hope we can secure the safe house soon. It's better equipped for a surprise attack.”

“Hopefully 

Arriving back in the bedroom, Jaebeom helped Youngjae back into the bed first, then pushed the wheelchair into the far corner of the room.

Climbing into the bed himself, Jaebeom pulled the sheet up over them. “I'm leaving the doona off. You're still very warm. I'll give you another wash down when we get up.” 

Youngjae smiled at him and much to Jaebeom's surprise, Youngjae's arm went around his waist without hesitation. “You know what?”

“What?” Jaebeom asked curiously, smiling back at him.

Youngjae kissed him, softly and briefly. 

“What was that for?” Jaebeom couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his lips. 

“For looking after me, making sure I behave my rebellious self and...”

“And?” Jaebeom pressed, wondering where this crazy guy's thinking was heading this time.

“Because I love you!”


	38. Chapter 38

"Because I love you!" 

Jaebeom wondered if he had somehow misheard Youngjae's words. "I'm sorry, you what?"

"Really, you need to clean your ears out. I'm not saying it again. I never said it to Min Sung once, as you know, so, think yourself lucky."

Jaebeom was extremely taken aback as Youngjae openly announced his love for him.

"But you said at th..." Jaebeom began.

"I know what I said, but you were the one who brought up having no regrets," Youngjae reminded him, “and I don't want anymore. I thought about it a lot after we talked, and the one thing I regretted the most was not telling Min Sung that I loved him. I'm not making that same mistake twice." 

Youngjae sighed before he continued and Jaebeom listened patiently.

"It's not easy for me to say stuff like this, but I've told you now because I wanted you to hear it at least this once and I hope it's enough for you."

Jaebeom smiled softly at him. "It's so much more than enough. I'm happy you told me," Jaebeom gently touched Youngjae's cheek. "Thank you for allowing me to hear how you feel."

Youngjae's eyes started to flutter and Jaebeom gently moved closer to him, kissing him tenderly. "The medication's kicking in, sleep. As always, I'll be right here."

Youngjae managed a sleepy smile and he whispered something to Jaebeom just before his eyes closed again.

Jaebeom chuckled and touched Youngjae's face gently. "Trust you to think of food after confessing. I'll make you the best breakfast ever. I promise."

Jaebeom kissed Youngjae on the forehead before closing his eyes and eventually drifting back to sleep.

~*~

“Go home Jackson, get some rest,” Bambam said seeing Jackson half asleep at his desk when he arrived at work the next day. “You're no good to anyone if you're not at your best and you know it.”

“I don't have fucking time to rest. I need to find these damn sobs so I can put a stop to this whole anti-Guardian shit!” Jackson snapped.

“Go home, you idiot. I'm serious if you don't, I'm gonna go and get the boss and he'll make you go!”

“Don't be an asshole, Bambam, you know this needs to be done asap,” Jackson snapped again,

“Then let us take over for a while,” he said nodding to Yugyeom who was filing paperwork in the corner, “He's a smart kid, he figured there was something not right about Tae Kyung's desk. He picked it right off the bat, that's how he found that extra secret compartment in the desk and explosives aren't involved, so he'll be fine.” Bambam placed his hand on Jackson's shoulder. “Please, Jackson, you're no good to us dead and if you keep this up you're gonna be. From one concerned friend to another, please, just go home for a few hours and sleep, away from work.”

Jackson sighed. He could hear the worry and concern in Bambam's voice and finally gave in. “Fine, I'll go get some sleep, but just make sure you turn over every rock and leaf. We can't afford any more delays, the anti-Guardians need to be stopped, before anyone else dies.”

“I promise; and Yugyeom already has a few leads, like I said he's a smart kid!” 

Jackson got up and grabbed his bag. “I'm counting on you two. Don't let me down!” He nodded as he left the office.

Bambam sighed and headed back over to Yuygyeom, “Did you hear that, let's get this moving!”

Yugyeom nodded, and picking up his files followed Bambam to the research room.

~*~

Jaebeom awoke around ten am and left Youngjae sleeping to go and make his breakfast as promised. 

He was almost finished plating it when he heard a pained cry from the bedroom and went running to find Youngjae on the floor.

“Youngjae, are you okay,” he said as he quickly and gently helped the younger man back onto the bed.

“It hurts, Jaebeom, it really hurts,” Youngjae was almost in tears.

“Shit it's bleeding again,” Jaebeom noted grabbing Youngjae's phone and getting nothing. “I can't get a hold of Jackson, What's Bambam's number.” 

“Seven, hit the seven,” Youngjae grimaced as he grabbed the pain killer and gave himself another dose, wincing in pain as he did so.

“How the hell did you fall off the bed?” Jaebeom asked puzzled.

“I was dreaming we were being chased, I must have been restless and fallen off.”

“I'm through. Yes, it's me, I need your help Youngjae fell out of the bed and his wound's reopened, it's bleeding again. “Yeah, it was an accident he fell off the bed while he was dreaming.” Yes, thank you. See you soon.” He hung up and turned to Youngjae. “Bambam's on his way.”

No sooner than he had said that two portals appeared and Bambam came out of one and the medics from the other and immediately attended to the wound.

“He was behaving, just so you know,” Jaebeom defended him quickly. “He was dreaming we were being chased and fell off the bed somehow.”

“Probably his Guardian instinct just kicking in," Bambam suggested. “Even I've found myself on the floor of my bedroom a few times. It's a highly stressful job.”

“I couldn't get a hold of Jackson either, so that's why I rang you,” Jaebeom informed him.

“Jackson didn't answer? That's strange his phone is never off,” Bambam said contemplating why his senior didn't take the call, especially since Youngjae was involved.

“Any idea where he would be?” Jaebeom asked.

“I sent him home. The stubborn idiot stayed at work for three days straight, he looked like death warmed up.”

“I hope he hasn't had an accident,” Jaebeom worried.

“I wouldn't worry, he probably decided to have a proper break for once. God only knows he needs one," Bambam sighed.

They stood silently watching the medics fix Youngjae's side up again and then the medics handed Jaebeom more pain killer. “He can have this every two hours for the next eight hours. Again keep him as immobile as possible. Maybe keep him over to the far side of the bed,” One of them suggested.

“I did,” Jaebeom told them. “That's how far he moved while sleeping.”

“Ahh, in that case, do you have anything that would perhaps keep him from falling out again?”

“Well, I do, but I'm not sure my old kiddie safety railing would work against the weight of an adult,” Jaebeom said thinking about it.

“It's better than nothing.” The first medic said.

“Okay I'll make sure I set it up then,” Jaebeom reassured him.

“We're done here,” The second medic told Bambam.

“Okay good. We'll take our leave, don't hesitate to call us.” Bambam said with a wave as they all portalled out again.

Youngjae lay on his good side feeling very sorry for himself.

Jaebeom sighed but then smiled. “Are you up to having your breakfast after all this?” he asked.

“I may be in pain, but there is no way I'm missing out on your cooking! I took some painkiller, so feed me before I get sleepy again damn it!” 

Jaebeom laughed a little. “And to think you said I was bossy he grinned heading out to get the food.

~*~

Jackson swiped his card and tagged off for the day. Bambam was right, he really needed sleep. Three days of working solidly had made him lethargic, tired and grumpy. He yawned and headed for the exit. 

Waving his card in front of the automatic lock system the doors opened and let him out.

Heading towards his car, he sighed, hopefully, the other two would make some progress by tomorrow. He promised himself he wouldn't go back until the morning and he'd stopped by to see the boss to let him know he was heading home to rest up.

The boss had been extremely supportive and insisted that he not come back in until tomorrow, to which Jackson had been grateful for.

Finally, he reached his car and went to open the door when he felt something stick into the side of his neck, and he whirled around to see a masked assailant holding a syringe. 

Jackson swung his bag knocking the assailant away and then attempted to get into this car, but his legs had already started giving way 

Three days without rest had obviously left him without his usual sharp senses and Jackson knew he was in trouble. He tried to drag himself into the car with his arms, but his strength had left him.

His eyelids became heavy and as he passed out, he wondered if he'd ever see the others again.


	39. Chapter 39

Youngjae lay back on the bed, satisfied after he'd consumed Jaebeom's awesome breakfast, being fed to him by Jaebeom himself too. Jaebeom had certainly made good on that promise. So many extra sides and the perfect traditional Korean breakfast to boot.

If he'd felt spoilt before, he sure as hell felt like a king right now. Jaebeom really did look after him, even though he was the one supposed to be looking after Jaebeom.

Jaebeom hadn't complained once, nor had he left Youngjae's side unless it was to cook, shower or toilet himself. 

The fact that Jaebeom had to help him toilet, hadn't bothered Youngjae either. It only made his feelings for Jaebeom stronger knowing that the man was willing to do anything for him, although he wished it hadn't.

He'd begun to wish that he didn't have to go back, and for the first time in his life he really wished he wasn't a Guardian, although he was glad he was one right now, because being a Guardian had brought him to Jaebeom and that, especially right now, was a blessing.

Youngjae felt a little ashamed of himself, how could he have been so blind to the fact that of course they would have caught up quicker with two drivers and he really shouldn't have realised that as an afterthought after getting shot. 

Too late then. 

In fact, this was the first time he'd ever been hurt with a weapon of any kind. Punched, kicked, bitten, slapped, that he was used to, but this; this was agonising and he knew the pain was more intense due to what they'd done to heal him. 

Youngjae had only felt it served himself right for letting this happen in the first place.

Jaebeom had just finished his shower and entered the bedroom carrying a bowl filled with soapy water a waterproof sheet and some clean towels and washcloths. 

Youngjae looked at him suspiciously. “Are you going to make me get completely naked and lie on that uncomfortable looking sheet?”

Jaebeom raised his eyebrows. “Are you going to remain smelly and sweaty and lay in damp wet bed?”

“Ooh, touche`,” Youngjae looked at him impressed. “Your comebacks are quick off the mark these days. You're learning.”

“I have to be if I want to stay even an inch ahead of you!,” he grinned. “Right I need to help you sit up, so I can pop this under you, then I can give you a proper wash,” Jaebeom put everything down on the end of the bed, except for the bowl, he placed that onto the bedside table.”

“Um, are you going to be okay if I remove your underwear, you can put this over yourself,” he said quickly handing Youngjae a handtowel. 

“Sure, although I'm still going to laugh at you because I see you naked all the time and you're worried about me being embarrassed, I mean what did I say when you took me to the bathroom early this morning?”

Jaebeom sighed. “I know, but, I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I'm not some kind of strange pervert, you know.

“Im Jaebeom, firstly, I know you're not a strange pervert, you're a very familiar pervert, with BDSM tendencies.”

Jaebeom went to defend himself but Youngjae kept going. 

“And secondly, how would you be giving 'me' the wrong idea? I'm the one who said I wanted you to fuck me senseless remember?” Youngjae gave a small snort. “Haven't changed my mind either.”

Jaebeom blushed.

“Look, if you see my cock, you see it, but, for someone who runs around naked at night, with his cock flopping about everywhere, you sure are stressing out over 'my' nakedness for no reason. And besides, you're going to have to clean down there too you know!” Youngjae said mischievously. 

“Ah,” Jaebeom said with a nervous look on his face as he helped Youngjae slowly sit up and placed the sheet onto the bed. “Good point.”

Jaebeom helped him lay back down and took a deep breath in looking at Youngjae's underwear.

“Would you just take them off already," Youngjae laughed. "If it's because you're worried about me getting an erection, too late, I already have one, because you're doing this, so might as well just get it over with.”

“Seriously? Do you have to be so honest about this?” Jaebeom laughed his face redder than before.

“What's wrong with being honest about it. I like you enough to get one. You should be flattered, my cock doesn't rise for just any man you know.”

“Why are you so brazen?”

“Why aren't you?” Youngjae shot back.

Jaebeom looked at him with a questioning look.

“You're so lucky, you have everything going for you, except for a decent family, no offence meant.”

Jaebeom chuckled amused by Youngjae's shamelessness. “They're assholes, none taken.”

“You've got the body of a Greek god. You're handsome, sexy, caring, loving, kind and sweet natured. I'm not only pissed off that I can't act on this right now, but I am also pissed off we're not from the same time. Who wouldn't want to have someone like you in their life?”

“Well, I wouldn't exactly say that in regards to my body,” Jaebeom said modestly.

“Fine I'll keep saying it for you,” Youngjae grinned. 

Jaebeom smiled at Youngjae and shook his head. “You're sweeter than you let on.”

Youngjae smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. “So you going to stand there and just leave me on this uncomfortable sheet all day or are you actually going to do this?”

“Okay, okay, just lay still and don't move,” he took a deep breath and gently removed Youngjae's underwear and for the first time since they had met, he was staring at the full extent of Youngjae's nakedness and he had to admit, that fucking him senseless was definitely something he wanted to do.

~*~

Jackson awoke in a very unfamiliar place. 

As his vision cleared and his awareness increased, he realised he wasn't restricted in any way.

No rope, nothing. 

Puzzled by the fact someone had gone out of their way to knock him out, but not restrict him, he couldn't even begin to assume why he'd been brought to where ever 'this' was.

Looking around some more now that his vision had finally become more stable, Jackson sat upright and noticed that the door of the room he was in wasn't even shut.

Now he was confused completely. If this were the enemy, why hadn't they done him in while they had the chance?

Something wasn't right, but what. Sitting up on the edge of the bed he noticed an envelope addressed to him on the small bedside cabinet next to him and picking it up he opened it.

Reading it through, the look on Jackson's face went from perplexed and confused, to 'what the fuck' in less than a minute. “I'm not your enemy. I need you to believe and trust me if we're to keep them both alive and put the anti-Guardian's out of action.” There was no name to the note and Jackson wondered who the hell had brought him here if not the Anti-Guardians.

Getting up from the bed, he shoved the note into his pocket and went in search of his 'captor'.

Hearing noises coming from another's room, Jackson cautiously headed towards it. Slowly looking around the corner of a kitchen area he saw the back of the one who must have brought him here and it looked like he was preparing two meals.

Jackson looked down to see the time, realising his watch had been removed. Of course it would have, but still, why was he allowed to roam freely? He really didn't feel like he was a prisoner, or in any danger either, and there only seemed to be he and his captor around.

Unless they were waiting for someone to come back, but even then it seemed odd.

They had gone to all of this trouble to get him here. He had been knocked out, kidnapped, his watch removed, but left to wander freely. 

It made no sense at all.

"I see you've finally risen from the dead," His captor said cheerfully as he turned around.

Jackson's face paled as his captor stood before him, smiling as if he was happy to see him.

"The fuck, Min Sung? What the hell is going on?"


	40. Chapter 40

Jaebeom finished washing down Youngjae and had helped him to sit on the edge of the bed to remove the plastic sheet and dry him down.

Youngjae watched as Jaebeom proceeded to dry him down very gently and taking every bit of care to not bump him. He sighed as he looked at the older man's handsome face and found himself smiling at him.

“What?” Jaebeom raised an eyebrow. 

“Mm nothing,” Youngjae said quite happily. 

“Weirdo,” Jaebeom chuckled as he carefully patted the area around the wound. 

Youngjae winced a little and Jaebeom stopped immediately

“Sorry,” Jaebeom immediately apologised. 

“It's fine, not your fault. I'm just getting twinges from the damn thing healing. But the medication's starting to kick in again. 

“I'll quickly change the bed sheets too,” Jaebeom said as he grabbed the wheelchair and helped Youngjae into it. “I'll get you new underwear in a minute, sorry.”

“Stop apologising, there's no need to. One thing at a time. I'm just grateful that you're such an angel to this... otter,” Youngjae smiled.

Jaebeom laughed as he went about changing the bed sheets over. “My otter, admitting he's an otter is a win for me you know that right?”

“Yes, yes, I know. I have to let you win once at least, hyung.”

Jaebeom looked at him and grinned. “And you called me hyung again. It's been a while.”

Youngjae shrugged. “Meh, I figured that after all this you deserved it.”

Jaebeom just smiled as he helped Youngjae back up and onto his good side on the bed.

“I suddenly feel quite refreshed and rejuvenated, except for the drowsiness setting in,” Youngjae said with a yawn. 

“When you're awake again we'll go outside on the veranda for a bit. It's so nice out there and you're probably dying for some fresh air too,” Jaebeom looked out of the window from the chair beside Youngjae and then turned back quickly, “Oh your clean underwear let me go...”

“Forget it. I'll sleep naked,” Youngjae replied surprising Jaebeom a little. “The clean sheets feel so nice against my skin. It's really comfortable, to be honest; and since we're safe for the moment, I'm not worried about being chased down the road naked for once.”

Jaebeom sat in the chair next to the bed and pulled the sheet up over Youngjae. “Alright, I understand. Rest up, for now. more you rest, the faster you'll recover.

Youngjae watched Jaebeom pick up his book and he yawned again. Another two days to go and he'd be free of the constraints that being shot had bestowed upon him. 

Slowly his eyes closed and under the close watch of Im Jaebeom, he drifted off again.

~*~

Jackson stood dumbfounded his mind was racing and then he rushed him grabbing Min Sung and shaking him.

“Do you know what you put Youngjae through you fucking asshole? After your fucking 'death', he's never been the same.”

“I had to die, in order to do what I needed to do to get this far, Jackson. You don't understand yet, just let me explain,” Min Sung said calmly as he tried to pry Jackson tightly clenched fists from off his collar

“Youngjae doted on you!” Jackson continued still not letting go. “He loved you so fucking much and you fucking betrayed him. You didn't even love him you fucking jerk.”

Min Sung grabbed Jackson's hands and finally pushed him down into a nearby seat. “I loved him enough to get out of his life and not drag him down into this damn mess. I just can't believe you assholes threw him into that particular person's life. You could have let someone else watch over him. Now you've put Youngjae in much more danger than he ever was before. I'm the one who should be fucking angry over that!

“Fuck off you stupid anti-Guardian why should I even believe a word you say?” Jackson snapped.

“I'm not the enemy Jackson, did you not read the note?” Min Sung sat down and placed one of the plates of food in front of Jackson.

“How do I know that?” Jackson snapped again looking down at the plate of food suspiciously. “You handed out sensitive Guardianship information before, why should I even think about trusting you?”

Min Sung saw the way Jackson was eyeing up the plate of food suspiciously, grabbed his utensils and shoved some of the food off Jackson's plate into his mouth and ate it.

Jackson sighed and folded his arms at least he knew the food hadn't been poisoned. 

“Why?” Jackson asked simply.

“I was undercover, I'm not an anti-Guardian, I had to pretend to be one in order to get into their hideout and then infiltrate the Guardianship and pretend to be a Guardian in order to try and find out who was the mastermind behind this whole facade.” 

“If you're neither faction, then who the hell are you?” Jackson gave him yet another suspicious look.

Min Sung sighed and handed him an information screen activating it as he did so.

“What the fuck? Sho Hyuk Jun, Beaureu investigation management. Is that your real name? You're from the System itself?”

“Yes and yes. Look, Jackson, listen, please, I didn't know who else I could trust at the Guardianship and I didn't need Youngjae getting involved in this. You seem to be the one who's got their head on the straightest. If I knew anyone could help me, it was you.”

“Did you actually love him?” Jackson asked.

“Of course I did. When I discovered Hye Shik, had infiltrated the anti-Guardians I said what I did in front of him intentionally. So that if Youngjae found out I was still alive he could hate me freely. I seriously loved that idiot so much. I wanted to marry him and settle down with him, but then my brother came onto the scene until then I had no idea he was an anti-Guardian. I was terrified Youngjae would be in danger so I handed out the information to the anti-Guardians on purpose. It wasn't even crucial information just a list of the board members. But some of the board had something to hide too. I figured whoever it was they were also working with my brother too. I just didn't have enough time, before my impending 'death', to find the proof back then. Everything went pearshaped at the time, but now I'm sure I know who was helping my brother and the rest of Im Jaebeom's screwed up family. But in order to get the final piece of the puzzle, I need your help.”

“Who killed Tae Kyung and Hye Shik? Answer me that and I'll consider what you're asking.”

“Ho Sung killed them both. He wanted no one left from back then to indulge the truth.”

“The board know you're alive, they're gonna come after you, you know that, don't you?” Jackson warned him.

“Let them,” Min Sung scoffed. “I'm ready for them now, except for the one last piece of vital information. Please, Jackson, you're my only hope. I need you to do this for me. We can take down the whole regime of anti-Guardian's and Im's family if we get this vital piece.”

Jackson folded his arms and sighed. “How do I know you're not setting me up? You seem to be good at that.”

“How can I get you to trust me?” Min Sung almost pleaded. “I'm really not the enemy.”

“I want to know everything and from the very beginning,” Jackson ordered. “Including the System's involvement in this and let me have my watch back so I can scan you while you're talking to me. If it shows you're not lying, then, I'll know if I can trust you.”

Min Sung immediately and without hesitation handed the watch back to Jackson. He watched as Jackson made the necessary adjustments and sighed.

“Okay, the scan is active. Go right ahead,” Jackson began as he sat forward in his chair and began to eat the food placed in front of him. “I'm listening. And for your sake,” he said waving the chopsticks at him, “this better be good!”


	41. Chapter 41

Jaebeom waited until Youngjae was totally out of it before heading outside and making the bench seating more comfortable for Youngjae to lie on when they came out later. 

Once he finished he stood looking out to the horizon. Trees blocked his view from anything that might be further and he sighed. On one hand, he'd be glad when this was all over, on the other, he'd be losing Youngjae back to the future.

Jaebeom was truly grateful that he had this time with Youngjae, it was just a shame things were so crazy. He wondered how he would cope once Youngjae had gone back and as quickly he had begun to think about all this he decided that he wished he hadn't. 

No one knew when this would be over and even then would Youngjae have to go back straight away or would he be allowed to finish out his six months if all this ended sooner?

Jaebeom truly hoped so.

The sun shone down on him from where he stood a the edge of the verandah and he smiled.

At least he was able to have him by his side for now and that's what he felt was the most important thing right now.

Sighing he looked out at the tree brimmed horizon again, then turned and headed back into the house.

~*~

Jackson was dumbfounded at what Min Sung had told him and he shook his head as he checked his instruments to see if he'd been told the truth and there was no doubt about it. 

Min Sung really was on the Guardian's side. 

“Fine, you have my cooperation. I'll look into everything you've asked me to. I just can't believe all the lies I've been thrown. So the files were manipulated more than once and he knew all along?”

“Yes, so you need to watch your back since he knows everything that's been going on if he finds out you know. He'll give the orders to kill you, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, I do. I have two people I know I can trust. What do I tell them?”

“Nothing, not at least until we get that last piece of information. I'm counting n you Jackson, you really are my, our, only hope!”

Jackson ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “I'm not expected back at work until tomorrow so I have an idea. Since I've was forcefully rested for a few hours already, thanks to you. I'll get my car head home and portal back tonight under the cloaking setting. They shouldn't detect me then at all. Especially since know how to change the settings on these watches and in the Guardianship security systems.”

Min Sung nodded. “I've already told the system that I contacted you and they trust you. So you have full jurisdiction to do anything you need to via any means possible. No questions asked.”

“I like those rules,” Jackson said with a positive grin.

“Okay, I'm portalling you back to where I picked you up from. Good Luck Jackson!” Min Sung nodded as he opened the portal back up.

“Thanks,” he said with a deep breath in. “I'm really going to need it!”

Min Sung watched as Jackson headed back, closing the portal after him.

This would be the last chance they would have to close this case altogether. 

Everything now lay in Jackson's hands.

~*~

Jaebeom checked the time it was now three thirty pm. He had checked to see if Youngjae had to come too again, but he hadn't. He'd completely slept through lunch, but Jaebeom didn't want to wake him. He'd set up the old bed railing too, at least that way he wouldn't fall off the bed again, hopefully.

Heading for the kitchen Jaebeom began to organise the ingredients for their meal once Youngjae woke up. Jaebeom had snacked a little but wanted to eat with Youngjae outside and he was going to make it as special as he could give their circumstances.

It took almost an hour and a half for him to finish preparing the ingredients and now it was on to cook.

He smiled, satisfied that it would be done within the next half an hour and went to finish setting up outside. 

Once he had done that he went in to check on Youngjae again and this time he was lying there quietly awake as if contemplating something.

“Nice to see you're awake,” Jaebeom said with a smile as Youngjae spotted him standing in the doorway.

“Am I too late to get my five minutes of freedom out in the fresh air?” Youngjae asked with a grin.

“No, not at all. In fact, it's good timing,” Jaebeom began as he removed the bed railing. “The foods almost ready, so I need to help you get some fresh pyjamas on and then take you outside. We're eating out there as well.”

“Oh, nice. That's so much better than being stuck in here again,” Youngjae replied gratefully. 

Jaebeom went through Youngjae's bags and found a clean pair of pyjamas and helped them get carefully into them, before bringing the wheelchair over and helping Youngjae into it. 

Jaebeom grabbed Youngjae's slippers and placed them on his feet and smiled at him.

“Okay, you ready?”

“I sure as hell am. Fresh air please good sir!” Youngjae said in a rather posh accent causing Jaebeom to chuckle in amusement.

Jaebom wheeled him to the front door and wheeled Youngjae out of it.

“Ooh, look at this then,” Youngjae grinned. “I really feel spoiled, you even brought out the candles, hyung.”

“I just figured that despite the situation it would be nice to have a meal and a few drinks, non-alcoholic,” Jaebeom added pointing his finger at Youngjae.

“Yes, yes. I'm not going to complain. No alcohol for me. I did promise you, remember?”

“I remember, I'm just making sure you remember,” Jaebeom informed him as brought the wheelchair close to the bench seat.

“Right, give me your hand and then lean on me again. Can you get up here?” Jaebeom asked as Youngjae moved to get out of the wheelchair. 

“Yeah I should be able to,” Youngjae replied as Jaebeom helped him sit down not the bench chair and helped him slowly get his legs up onto it.

“Wow, I thought this would be hard and uncomfortable, what did you do, use the whole blanket section in your linen cupboard?”

“Not quite,” Jaebeom said with a grin.

“I'm just going to get the food. Don't fall off.”

“haha smart ass,” Youngjae chuckled as Jaebeom headed into the house. He took in a deep breath of air and let it out. “God this place smells so nice.” 

“Doesn't it,” Jaebeom agreed as he came back with the food and placed it onto the table in front of them.

“Why is it you always seem to excel in this department? Look at this spread yet again and the smell. I could just sit here and inhale it. To think I have to go back and eat Bambam's cooking or that replicated crap, which by the way, I will say, is better than Bambam's cooking!”

“Look, lazy butt, I can teach you to cook. That's not an issue, so instead of you bitching about the awful stuff, how about learning from me. I'll just write down how I do it!”

“I like being lazy though,” Youngjae said quite calmly as he grinned.

“I noticed,” Jaebeom grinned as he shook his head. Especially when food is the subject. You'd rather eat the stuff you don't like than cook your own.”

“Cooking takes effort. The only effort I exert is what I need to put out during my missions.” Youngjae replied quite proudly.

“I'm not surprised at all for some reason,” Jaebeom laughed as he dished out the food and fed the first mouthful to Youngjae. 

“I was thinking about feeding myself today,” Youngjae began thoughtfully, “but then I remembered it would be rather difficult whilst lying on my side. So thank you, for putting up with this, and me, and my whiny ass.” 

Jaebeom smiled at him. “It's fine, you're really not that bad at all.”

“Speaking of bad, is it really bad that I want to introduce you to my mother?” Youngjae said with a raised eyebrow.

Jaebeom burst out laughing.

“What I was being serious?” Youngjae said firmly.

“It's not like we can do that. I wish we could. I'd love to meet your mother, but there wouldn't be any point, since I can't go there and you can't stay here once this, or your six months is up, right?”

“Ah, you had to go and remind me didn't you?” Youngjae sighed as Jaebeom continued to feed him.

“Sorry, but we both know it's not going to happen,” Jaebeom sighed a little disappointed. “We've established this from the beginning.”

“I know, but sometimes I wish it were different too, to be honest.” Youngjae sighed too.

“Anyway, you need to shush and eat. You have to get your strength up and get better. I don't want any other surprises to happen. At least until you're better. We'd be at a disadvantage if that happened.” 

“True, very true and I hate being this incapacitated because it makes me feel very vulnerable and I hate feeling vulnerable,” Youngjae said as he sighed a little.

“Two more days, that's all and you'll hopefully be better by this time then,” Jaebeom said encouragingly.

“Yeah I really hope so,” Youngjae said as he ate some more food that Jaebeom had fed him.

“I really, really do!”

~*~

Mark sat reading in the lamplight in the lounge of Jaebeom's house when Jinyoung walked in after he'd been to the bathroom. “Where did you say Jaebeom had gone?”

“He's just gone away for a while, didn't really say where it was, nothing new he does it every now and again” Mark replied with a shrug.

Jinyoung nodded as he walked over to Mark and then suddenly stopped in his tracks, “Did you hear that?” He asked in a whisper.

“Yeah,” Mark replied putting the book down and standing up whispering back quietly. “It sounds like someone's trying to get in through Jaebeom's back door.”

Mark listened and then quickly motioned for Jinyoung to come to him. “stay here, I'm going to run to the closet quickly. Jaebeom has a couple of hockey sticks in there and I know he has some rope too. Call the police, tell them someone's trying to break in and ask them not to sound their sirens.”

Jinyoung nodded as Mark headed off quickly and then came back after a minute, hockey sticks in hand. Luckily the lamp light was all they had turned on and they quickly turned it off and headed towards the back door using only the lowest light setting of Mark's phone.

Putting his hand to his lips he nodded to Jinyoung to go to the left-hand side of the door and hide down behind the washing machine on the opposite side, while he stood behind the door.

Both of the boy's hearts raced like crazy. 

Finally, the intruder managed to unlock the door and the boys held their breath as it slowly began to open.


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late posting. I had to sort stuff out for a convention and have been running a traders room here at the hotel where it's at, while I am at it. Finally finished the chapter in between, so here it is my lovelies <3

Mark flattened himself as much as he could behind the door as it opened. Luckily for him, the intruder didn't push it back all the way. 

Unluckily for the intruder, he walked into through the door and yelped loudly as he tripped over the hockey stick Jinyoung held out and quickly manoeuvred between his legs.

Within seconds Mark had him pinned down and his hands behind his back. Jinyoung whipped out a set of handcuffs and cuffed the guy, before shutting the back door and turning the light on.

"Surprise," he said whipping out his badge as Mark pulled the guy up from the floor, checking his pockets and finding a gun concealed in his jeans.

"Park Jinyoung and Mark Tuan. Special forces," he said with a smirk as he grabbed the intruder with his free hand, allowing Mark to pull out his badge too.

"You couldn't have picked a worse house to break into," Mark said smugly. "Especially when the person who owns this house has us for friends."

Mark removed the face mask from the individual and then stared at him. "You, I know you!" Mark put two and two together. "You bastards, are still after his damn money."

"Wait! You know him, who the hell is he? And why is he after JB's money?" Jinyoung asked curiously.

"I've met him once before. This is one of JB's money-grubbing family. His uncle to be exact. I heard he was around the place somewhere. I got a tip-off after we nearly got that light fixture dropped onto our heads at the casino the other week, that he was in town. He's also believed to be for the death of Jaebeom's parents." Mark paused as a knock on the front door was heard. "I'll explain the rest later, that'll be the guys now." 

They dragged Jaebeom's uncle out to the front door and opened it.

"Hi guys great timing we have a present for you,” Mark smirked. “This is the guy that was at the casino the night I reported the incident. Cameras, the recent reports that were found and eyewitnesses should be enough to get him put away and you'll find the fingerprints up in the ceiling of the casino where the light fitting was removed, will probably be a match. "Lock him up for now. We'll finish up here and then come question him."

"Sure thing," The other officer said as he and his work partner took the intruder by the arm and began to take him away. "We'll see you two down at the station."

"Yeah, see you there. We'll be about half an hour finishing up here, make sure the rest of Im Jaeebeom's family is investigated thoroughly. Find out who's involved and arrest the lot. They're out to kill the owner of this house who's in line for a family inheritance.” He pointed to the uncle, who was cussing and snarling. “It falls to this guy after 12 months once Im Jaebeom is out of the way." Mark shook his head. "That was pretty dumb coming here, especially since you're one of the ringleaders."

Jaebeom's uncle finally spoke without cussing "That wimpy asshole is as good as dead. We know where he is. Or at least where he was heading. We already shot his friend who's travelling with him. He's next."

Mark looked puzzled, Jaebeom never took anyone anywhere when he went away. He waved the others out. "Get him out of here."

They watched as the uncle was dragged away cursing and making a scene.

Once the uncle had been placed safely into the police vehicle, Mark turned to Jinyoung. "Why didn't I realise it?" He berated himself.

"Realise what?" Jinyoung asked curiously.

"Jaebeom hasn't just been going away for the sake of it, he's still in danger. He's been running and hiding. We need to find out where the hell he is and who the hell is with him."

"You think he's seriously in real danger?" Jinyoung questioned Mark.

"Yeah. JB's reported the threats,” Mark replied, “but the police wouldn't act on it because nothing had happened. Now we have proof things have been happening. I got sent information from an anonymous source, with proof and reports that I really couldn't ignore it. If we can get this guy to talk. We can find out where Jaebeom was heading."

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Jinyoung shut the front door and headed out towards the back door again. This uncle of Jaebeom's must have left a car and clues somewhere, so let's go find it, then we can grill his nasty ass."

Mark nodded as the headed out the back door.

~*~

Jackson, invisible, went back to the Guardianship HQ later that evening. He found it rather amusing watching the evening staff wandering around oblivious of his presence as he bypassed the security system rather efficiently before heading to his destination and waited.

It wasn't long before the boss left his office and headed off for the night.

Jackson waited until it was clear before making his move. Heading swiftly over to the office door he attempted to walk through it first and failed. He'd figured as much though. Of course, the boss wouldn't be stupid enough to not have anti walkthrough protection. He sighed and overrode the code, and then, looking around to make sure no one was watching, Jackson snuck into the office.

Even though he was invisible, anyone seeing a door opening on its own would know right away what was happening and to be caught out now, that's the last thing he needed.

He shut the door and locked it,  from the inside, heading straight to the boss's desk. 

Remaining invisible, Jackson, instead of going through the drawers or filing cabinet,  climbed under the desk and felt around under the bottom of it. 

Since Yugyeom had found a secret compartment in Tae Kyung's desk, he was pretty damned sure he'd find one under the boss's.

If Min Sung, was right, the last piece of the puzzle would be somewhere in this office.

As Jackson looked around under the desk he began to get frustrated. If there was a secret compartment here it was pretty well hidden.

It was then that Jackson saw the small wood-knot in the leg over in the far left corner of the desk. 

Without hesitation, he crawled over to it and pressed it.

A smile crept upon his face when he heard the sound of something opening above him. He quickly crawled out from under the desk and getting up from the floor he saw that a panel had opened from the top of the boss's desk and just like Min Sung thought, there was a file hidden inside. 

Quickly grabbing it out he shoved it into his jacket, and zipped it up, then crawling back under the desk again he pressed the wood-knot again and crawled back out as the panel above reclosed itself.

Jackson looked around the office, before walking out through the closed door, reset the code for the door and headed back to reset the security system, making sure that everything was back to the way it was originally before he snuck back into the HQ.

Leaving the building he headed to a more secluded spot to message Min Sung and seconds later a portal appeared and Jackson walked into it, making himself visible at the same time.

Min Sung was waiting for him as he came through and Jackson immediately handed him the folder.

"You were right," Jackson confirmed with Min Sung. "This, as you assumed it might have been, was hidden in the boss's desk."

“I knew it would be in there,” Min Sung said excitedly as he began to go through it.

“As you can see,” Jackson began, “it's pretty damning. That's going to put Ho Sung and his crew away for a long time. The information is so detailed. Who the hell did the boss have on his side that would be trustworthy enough, besides Hye Shik to infiltrate the anti-Guardians to get this info?" Jackson's curiosity was peaked now.

Min Sung just pointed to the chair, “You might want to sit down for this.”

Jackson gave him a suspicious look as he took the chair and sat by the table again.

“You can come out now,” Min Sung said with a grin.

Jackson waited as he heard footsteps heading toward the kitchen and he watched in anticipation as a cloaked figure walked into the kitchen and stood before them and slowly removed his hood.

Jackson's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open momentarily before he found the ability to speak again.

“What the fuck?” 

Was all he said.


	43. Chapter 43

After dinner, Jaebeom had taken the dishes inside and came back out to sit with Youngjae under the porch light and the two of them sat there enjoying the peacefulness surrounding them.

Jaebeom had sat himself down with Youngjae, Youngjae's head resting in his lap.

The silence was suddenly broken when Youngjae sighed causing Jaebeom to look down at him.

"Care to share?" Jaebeom asked as he gently stroked Youngjae's hair.

"I was just thinking," Youngjae said looking back up at Jaebeom with a smile

"That sounds dangerous," Jaebeom chuckled tapping Youngjae on the nose playfully.

Youngjae screwed his nose up and grinned. "Thinking is dangerous, especially where you're involved."

"Thinking about me again huh?". Jaebeom smirked.

"Unfortunately," Youngjae began, raising his eyebrows. "You are the bane of my existence right now, you know that don't you?"

"I suppose I am, aren't I," Jaebeom agreed with a grin. "I seduced you with my charms, and made you fall in love with me."

"Pfft! Made me fall in love with you my ass. I did that perfectly fine without any help from you, thank you very much." Youngjae paused to rethink about what he'd just said. "Okay, well, no, that's not exactly true, otherwise I probably wouldn't have fallen in love with you." 

Jaebeom laughed. "Obviously, but what made you fall in love with me. I'm pretty sure you weren't happy to be stuck with me at first?"

Youngjae laughed this time. "True. I really didn't want to be stuck looking out for this boring guy, who had no luck and looked as grumpy as possible and his idea of fun was watching reruns of old kdrama online."

Jaebeom gave youngjae gave him a soft smack to the top of his head. "Chh, cheeky. Since when did I watch reruns."

Youngjae's laugh at Jaebeom's reaction to his summary of him made Jaebeom laugh too and Youngjae reached for Jaebeom's hand.

"Okay, kdrama reruns may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but you didn't deny the rest." Youngjae looked at him with a victorious smile.

"How about you stop avoiding the question?" Jaebeom replied wiggling Youngjae's nose.

"Impatient, aren't you?" Youngjae wriggled a little to adjust his position so he could see Jaebeom's face better. "So why did I fall in love with you?" He thought seriously for a moment. "Because you're you. What other reason should there be?"

Jaebeom gave him an embarrassed smile, before leaning down to kiss him briefly.

'I know I kept saying you reminded me of Min Sung, but that's because you both have similar personalities. I'm in no way comparing you to him,” Youngjae reassured him, “it's just that, you're also just as very sweet and loving towards me as much as he was, and what I like the most about you is, that in contrast to Mun Sung, I know you love me through your actions, it's in complete contrast to how we were. I'm more comfortable when I know someone loves me through their actions, not their words." 

Seeing the confused look on Jaebeom's face he quickly clarified. "In saying that, It doesn't mean that I don't think Min Sung loved me, he did, a lot. He asked me to marry him and I said yes. It's just that I don't feel it necessary to constantly say I love you to each other, because you should know that the other person loves you. If that makes sense?"

Jaebeom nodded, agreeing with Youngjae's views. "I can understand that, although, I will say that I feel it's important to say it at least once a day, because, and I'm sorry for saying this because of what happened to Mun Sung, but at least if anything happened to either partner, one of the last things you would have told them, would be that you loved them. You yourself know exactly how much the regret eats away at you for not saying those words to Min Sung."

Youngjae sighed, Jaebeom was right. “Maybe I'll learn to say it more often. I've already had two close calls. One because of my stupidity, trying to deny being in love with you and the other, because, I wasn't paying enough attention to my surroundings.” 

Jaebeom shook his head. “Don't be so hard on yourself. We both had no idea they'd catch up so quickly. No point in beating yourself up over the past, and it's okay if you can't say it. Our situation is a lot different to a normal relationship and I know that. I won't regret a thing, because I know, that you know, that I love you and I'm all too aware of how you feel about me because you constantly remind me of how much of an inconvenience to you it is.” Jaebeom said with a chuckle as he pulled on Youngjae's ear playfully. 

Youngjae gave a short laugh out through his nostrils. “Don't you forget it either,” he replied poking Jaebeom on the leg before pausing. “Although hyung, I promise, I will say it to you. I'm just not sure when, but I'll make sure neither of us dies before that happens." 

Jaebeom looked down at him fondly. “I'll hold you to that, and let's not die at all, I like living a little too much.” 

“In all honesty, I'd prefer that option too,” Youngjae agreed wholeheartedly as he shivered a little.

Jaebeom pressed his hand gently to Youngjae's face. “Let's head inside, you're freezing. You should have told me.”

“I was enjoying not being confined to the bed. A little cold won't hurt me.” Youngjae gave him a grin. “Although I could use some pain killer right about now. I've been avoiding mentioning it because spending time with you out here was nice.”

“I enjoyed it too,” Jaebeom smiled as he held out his hand to help Youngjae sit upright, then moving the table out of the way he grabbed the wheelchair and helped Youngjae back into it.

“Can we do this tomorrow, but for lunch?” Youngjae asked hopefully.

“Sure.” Jaebeom opened the door and wheeled Youngjae back into his room. “No reason why we can't, unless Jackson suddenly turns up and we have to move again.”

“Shh,” Youngjae started placing a finger over his lips, “don't curse us with his presence. I'm in no hurry to be chased away from this peacefulness that I've been blessed to experience.” 

Jaebeom laughed as Youngjae gave him a dissatisfied glare for mentioning Jackson's name as he helped him back onto the bed and gave him a shot of the pain killer.

“I'm sure that won't happen,” Jaebeom smiled putting the painkiller back down. “I'm just going to lock up and do the dishes. I'll make us a warm drink and bring in some chocolate biscuits when I'm done.”

“I'm all for that. Don't be too long though,” Youngjae spoke softly. “I think I'm getting too accustomed to having you by my side. It's a little lonely in here when you're not around.”

Jaebeom nodded and gave him a gentle hug. “I won't be too long. I promise.”

Youngjae watched as Jaebeom left the room. 

As much as he hated to admit it, he really was very attached to the not so boring, not so grumpy guy. 

This much of an attachment, however, was a bad thing, a very, very bad thing. 

For the first time ever since he'd met Jaebeom, Youngjae cursed the fact he was from 800 years in the future, cursed Jaebeom's unconditional, nurturing love, the Guardianship for sending him here, and finally, he cursed Min Sung for dying on him and leaving him alone to fall in love with someone else he shouldn't have.

His departure from Jaebeom was still some time away, but the thought of having to leave him was already too painful, and in that poignant moment, Youngjae made a decision.

Once he returned to the future, he'd never love again.

~*~

Jackson looked on shocked, sure that he must be imagining things now as a blatant wide grin greeted him from under the hood. He looked from Min Sung to the grinning brat in front of them and back, pointing, his mouth open, but saying nothing.

“So,” Min Sung chuckled. “Yugyeom is a Special Ops Soldier for the System. It was his job to gather all the intel he could on those involved in this whole mess. Needless to say, he's managed to do an excellent job as a Guardian, anti-Guardian and System agent.

“How?” Jackson finally blurted out. “How is he, the scrawny, non-compliant, Youngjae wannabe guy, who blew up mass amounts of shit he shouldn't, a System Special Ops soldier. HOW?”

Yugyeom laughed. “I'm sorry Jackson, I did all that to make it look like I was a bit on the dense side. I had to, part of the job. When the System first sent me to the Guardianship HQ to keep an eye on Tae Kyung and Ho Sung, the boss told me to act like a complete beginner in everything I did, so I did. I'm actually trained in spying, armed and hand to hand combat, and explosives handling, just to name a few.”

“How the hell did you spy on the anti-Guardians without getting caught?” Jackson asked, absolutely confused as to how it was possible.”Tae Kyung knew who you were? Ho Sung would have known? So would all the other anti-Guardians.”

“Simple. Min Sung simply created a new programme for my watch. For example,” Yugyeom opened his watch and pressed a side button protruding from it.

Jackson stepped back a little surprised as Yugyeom suddenly wasn't Yugyeom and his watch changed into a simple digital wrist wrap.

“This is a special ops feature Min Sung added to my watch so I could come and go freely from the anti-Guardian HQ.”

“Even your voice is different.” Jackson wasn't sure whether he should be impressed or pissed off, all those long hours rewriting the beginner's rules to find out the explosive abusing little shit, was actually a fully-fledged System Special Ops soldier. 

Yugyeom changed back into himself and sat down. “Well, that's how I did it.”

“Why wasn't I informed we had the System involved? This is pretty damn frustrating, to say the least.” Jackson huffed.

“Top notch orders to keep everything quiet. We have two System agents permanently based in the past. We just got word from one of them that Jaebeom's uncle has finally been arrested.” Min Sung said rather triumphantly. 

Jackson looked shocked for the second time today, “How the hell did that happen?”

“Yugyeom set him up.” Min Sung smirked. “I can't reveal anything yet, not until we have Jaebeom's family securely locked up and he is safe, but I will as soon as I'm able too. I do, however, have a plan, if you want to hear it?”

Jackson sighed and sat down too. “I guess I really don't have any choice but to trust in you. Go right ahead, I'm all ears.”


	44. Chapter 44

Jackson, after retrieving his car, headed home. 

Min Sung had finally finished explaining everything. Jackson's head, however, was still reeling over all the information that had been given to him. Going through everything in his mind he hoped that Min Sung's plan would be foolproof.

They had one of the ring leaders in custody, being Jaebeom's uncle, and he wondered what Yugyeom had promised him he'd find entering Jaebeom's empty home.

Sighing his mind turned to thoughts of how to capture the other ringleader, Ho Sung. He was the one they would really have to be more careful of, there was no telling what he'd do if he got wise to the fact that they were on to him and his men.

A call came through on his phone as he pulled into his place and got out of the car and answered. 

“Hey, boss. Yeah, I'm fine, yeah you can come over. Yeah, I need to discuss things with you too. Okay great. Yeah in two hours, sure that gives me time to freshen up and make dinner. Okay. No problem. Yeah. Bambam is more than welcome. See you then.” hanging up the phone Jackson sighed, it was already 11 pm. So much for having an early night any time soon.

Opening the house up he headed straight for his bedroom and threw his stuff into it before grabbing a town from the door rack and headed straight for the shower. He was tired of smelling like an off piece of fruit. Too many days sleeping at the office didn't help either.

Washing himself down he smiled, it felt so nice to be clean and not smell off for a change.

After he'd showered he made himself a meal and cleaned up after himself and it wasn't long after that there came a knock on the door.  
Opening the door Jackson raised an eyebrow, "Why are you two dressed like that?” 

“We're incognito,” Bambam replied as he and the boss pushed their way into the house.

“You seriously look like a couple of homeless vagrants, trying not to look so conspicuous and failing.

“His idea,” the boss replied quickly, “so as to not get the backlash about Bambam's ridiculous ideas.

“If you two didn't want to get caught about the place looking like morons, you should have used a portal from wherever you were. These are so bad and it's not hard to tell they're pretty shit disguises.” Jackson scoffed at the two of them. “Never mind though. I guess you tried.”

Bambam sighed as he sat down. “So what did you want to tell us?”

Jackson wondered how much of what he could say. “So what do you know about our System Special Ops?” He began.

The boss looked at him oddly. “More to the point what do you know about them?”

“I know Min Sung isn't dead,” Jackson began honestly.

“And just how do you know that?” The boss asked inquisitively, 

"Because he already told me he's actually from the system.”

“Ahh, so you found him then?” The boss said with a smirk.

“More like he found me to be honest,” Jackson replied, “and he knocked me out. Not happy about that.”

“Sounds like our Min Sung. Quite thorough that one,” The boss said cheerfully.

“I am pissed at you two though. Not letting me know the plans you guys had set into place. I'm assuming Bambam is also from the System while saying this. You know I am 2IC for fuck sake, the information would have been nice to know!” Jackson said the annoyance coming through in the tone of his voice.

“I'm sure Min Sung would have told you why already. And we had to keep it quiet. Ho Sung is dangerous. Very dangerous we couldn't risk losing you. You're our second best Guardian after Youngjae,” Bambam replied earnestly.

Yes, yes I get it. But it still is pretty shitty that you did all this. Setting it all up not telling Youngjae. He has no idea Min Sung is alive. How do you expect him to react when he discovers all this?”

“I'm sure he'll understand why it was done,” The boss sighed as he crossed his arms. “Protecting Jaebeom is and always has been our first priority. Anyway,” he continued. “I'm sure Min Sung mentioned the System's men that are there at the moment?”

“Yes, he did say there was two of them in the past,” Jackson informed him.

Correct. We've sent them Jaebeom's coordinates,” Bambam continued, “and I just hope they get there before the family and Ho Sung does. That would not be good if they were to reach them first. Youngjae has one more full day of healing before he can move. If something were to happen now they would be in deep shit not having Youngjae's full potential to their advantage.”

Jackson nodded. “I see. So you're basically sending them to babysit in the meantime?”

“No,” the boss interjected. “this is all part of the plan. All going well, this will end the farce that has gone on for almost three decades. But we're going to need Jaebeom and Youngjae's utmost cooperation if we're to beat Ho Sung at his own game.”

“Well it had better work,” Jackson began, “Because if it doesn't things could get pear-shaped pretty damned fast.”

~*~  
As promised Jaebeom had come back to Youngjae's side once he'd locked the house and finished everything up.

Youngjae was already asleep so he'd changed into his pyjamas and crawled into the bed with him, being extremely careful so as not to wake him.

Checking the time Jaebeom suddenly became curious of what his watch that the boss had sent him could do.

Unlike Youngjae's watch, it didn't have extra buttons and he was thoroughly disappointed that all it did was tell the time and track his whereabouts. 

No wonder it was easy for the Guardians to just turn up where they were at any given time.

He sighed and rolled over to face Youngjae sleeping peacefully. 

It wasn't long before he drifted off himself as the tiredness made him succumb to the sleep that was stalking him.

He was woken some hours later by a noise in the kitchen area and he froze for a moment. 

Terrified someone had made it past the protective barrier, Jaebeom quickly got off the bed and quietly grabbed an old baseball bat that he'd found in the house and left by the side of the bed for protection. 

Slowly, bat in hand Jaebeom made his way to the kitchen. Taking a risk he quickly flicked the kitchen light on and charged in bat raised in the air only to find a small racoon dog, now staring at him terrified. It had been happily rummaging through the bin before the bid scary thing came in and so rudely interrupted his meal.

Finally, it ran back the way it must have gotten in.

Jaebeom followed it, still clutching the bat tightly. He was sure he'd locked the house up so how the hell had the racoon dog gotten in, in the first place.

It led Jaebeom towards another bedroom and ran straight past the open door and through the window that was now open. 

Jaebeom stopped in his tracks.

That room had been locked and shut before he'd gone to bed. So why was it open now? A feeling of pure terror rushed through him and he turned to run back towards the bedroom.

Suddenly he was grabbed from behind and then everything around him went black.


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, this chapter is a bit of a head bender a lot of information. <3

As Jaebeom finally started to come around, his heart thumped in his chest. The last thing he remembered was being grabbed from behind.

His vision was quite fuzzy as he found himself staring up at two very blurry faces. He recoiled back in the bed and sat up with a start, glaring at the two people in front of him as one began to speak.

"I told you not to go through the window, you idiot."

Was that Jinyoung's voice?

"I had no idea he'd faint, did I?"

And Mark's. That pretty much sounded like his voice.

"He may look tough, but he's actually a bit of a soft touch."

That was definitely Youngjae. 

"Sounds like an accurate statement to me. Oh hey, he's awake. Hey Jaebeom!"

"Fuck you, Mark," Jaebeom spat, his vision clear now. "You scared the crap out of me! How the hell did you get here? And Youngjae why are you talking to them so casually?”

“Since they carried you in here apologising to me profusely, then showed me their police badges, I pretty much figured they were on our side. And besides that, I recognised Mark as your friend from the casino.”

Jaebeom pointed at Mark and Jinyoung. “I know you're police, but how the hell did you get here that fast?” 

“Portalled.”

“Wait? What?” Jaebeom responded, sounding a little confused. “What the hell is going on here?”

Mark raised an eyebrow. “It's a bit of a story, but Jackson will be here soon to explain things.” 

“How the hell do you guys know Jackson?” No sooner than Jaebeom had mentioned Jackson's name, a portal opened and Jackson himself stepped out, followed by Bambam and Yugyeom.

“Jackson, what the hell is going on?” Jaebeom demanded.

"Well, no point in delaying the inevitable." Jackson nodded towards Mark and Jinyoung. "Firstly, this may be a bit of a shock for you, Jaebeom, but Mark and Jinyoung are from the future too; agents that were sent here to infiltrate the police force and watch over you and investigate your family here in the past. They're from what we call, the System."

"The System?" Jaebeom asked a little confused.

“15 years from now, an organisation called the System is founded on Earth and run from this country.” Jackson began. “The founder of the System introduced new and groundbreaking technology at the time of its founding and then five years later the Guardianship comes into existence. Jumping to 700 years after the System's founding, warring factions almost destroy the Earth, and the System even now is slowly bringing it back from the edge of its ruin using the ever-improving technology to do so.”

Jackson sighed and pulling over a chair, sat down. “The System, from the time of its founding and now, 800 years in the future, oversees the running of the Earth's technology throughout all of it's remaining countries. However, even now as I speak, the existence of the System's creation and everything that followed it is in jeopardy.” Jackson said solemnly. 

“But why?” Jaebeom asked inquisitively.

“We began sending Guardian's back to the past to watch over and protect those who had important roles to play in history, especially our history. Sadly it also paved the way for those who didn't agree with our ideals to interfere. So, basically, we shot ourselves in the foot.”

Jackson looked around. “Are we all following so far?”

Everyone nodded in agreement and Jackson went on.

“In the end, what started off as an act of Jealousy and greed within one Man's family in the past, ended up as a game of cat and mouse between, them, the System, and a group called the anti-Guardians. Anti Guardians began to infiltrate the Guardianship as Guardians. Of course, once inside they had unlimited access to our files. So then the anti-Guardians, parading as Guardians were sent to the past and became involved, helping to murder some of the people we were trying to protect.” 

Jackson stretched his legs and sighed before continuing. 

“To explain further, some of the future relatives of the founder of the System and Guardianship were amongst the anti-Guardians that infiltrated our ranks. Shim Ho Sung, formerly known as Sho Anh Ji, and Lee Tae Kyung, formerly known as Im Seok Jeong, were two of the most recent ones over the past few years. One of Tae Kyung, sorry, Im Seok Jeong's relatives,” Jackson corrected quickly, “met and got to know one of the founder's relatives in the early years of the technology's production and that's when we realised that certain assumptions we'd had about who our founder was, were wrong.”

Jackson looked over at Jaebeom. “Who we thought was the original founder of the System and Guardianship died along with his wife in a staged car accident, leaving their only child behind, but yet we still existed.”

Jaebeom swallowed nervously, his heart pounding in his ears. “Why do I get the terrifying feeling I'm not going to like what's next?”

“I gather you've figured it out?” Jackson asked his voice calm and monotoned.

Jaebeom shifted uncomfortably and sat forward on the bed. “So I'm assuming that what you're telling me, is that my father was thought to have been the original founder of the System, but he died before this technology was developed fully through his company. Being the only child, I'm the sole heir to that company, which would mean that...” The shock showed on Jaebeom's face as it contorted and all the information he'd suddenly had thrown at him ran wildly through his mind. “I'm the System's founder?”

Jackson nodded. “We've had the Guardians watching your family for almost three decades. The Guardianship realised, that after your parents were murdered, that because we and the System were still in existence, that it wasn't your father, but you, who held our future in your hands.”

Jackson watched Jaebeom's face the whole time he spoke, noting the shock hadn't died down at all. Not surprising really, considering the amount of information he was bombarding the poor man with. 

“Even after your Grandparents sent you away, we had Guardians around you. Your previous Guardian, once you came back from overseas, was killed. Not long after that, we allowed Youngjae to become your Guardian. However, we felt it was imperative that he not know who you were.” Jackson turned to face Youngjae at this point and gave him an apologetic look. “We put you in a lot of danger, Youngjae, and I'm sorry. We should have told you.”

Youngjae said nothing, he was just as shocked as Jaebeom. It finally dawned on him how serious this all was. He knew about his predecessor being killed of course, but now he truly realised that he wasn't just watching over some 'boring, grumpy 'rich boy'.

He'd gone and thrown himself at, and fallen in love with, the most wanted person on the anti-Guardian's list and the one person that would eventually create the technology that would pave the way for what he himself had become, and the one person who would pave the way for the technology to be created, that would help the Earth to recover 800 years in the future.

Youngjae closed his eyes and sighed. 

This was all so very insane. 

He'd honestly thought that he was just protecting Jaebeom from a greedy bunch of murderous jerks, but in fact, it was a full on conspiracy he'd gotten himself into.

“How though? I have someone else in charge of the company. I'm not even running it.” Jaebeom argued.

“You will though,” Jackson insisted, “and not too far in the future either. The fact that we're all here now is proof of that. If you had already been dead, the company would have gone to your relatives after 12 months. The anti-Guardians offered large amounts of gold to your relatives in exchange for the company and amnesty in the past. They would have destroyed everything, completely halting the creation of the technology that we now use to better the world, and in turn, Youngjae, Bambam, myself, and even Mark, Jinyoung and Yugyeom as part of the System, wouldn't exist as who we are now. No Im Jaebeom means no System, no Guardians and no technology to help the Earth after the wars.”

Jaebeom took a deep breath blowing it out slowly. “I need to get outside, I need some air, this is way too much to take in.”

“I understand, but before you do. I have one more thing I need to do before you go out,” Jackson informed him.

“Sure, go ahead. It can't get more complicated than it is right now, right?” Jaebeom said with a great deal of sarcasm in the tone of his voice.

Jackson created another portal and stood to the side, waiting.

A few seconds later footsteps could be heard and everyone seemed to hold their breath in anticipation as the final person began to come through.


	46. Chapter 46

As the figure came through into the light Jaebeom noticed Youngjae's confused and almost terrified reaction as Jackson introduced the newcomer "This is Sho Hyuk Jun. He's the number one undercover agent and a member of the bureau investigation management team for the System itself."

Jaebeom became more concerned because of the way Youngjae was staring at the man who had just come through the portal. He seemed to be deeply disturbed by him, confused, even frightened by him.

Slowly Youngjae got up from the bed, catching the attention of the newcomer, who turned to face him.

"I think we should take a break before we get down to the real business,” Jackson said quickly ushering the others out of the room. He gestured for Jaebeom to come, but he refused to leave Youngjae's side, he wasn't too sure what was going on but he knew it was something serious considering the way Youngjae had begun to act.

“Min Sung?” Slowly Youngjae began to walk over to the man standing in front of them and almost fell. Jaebeom went to catch him, but Sho Hyuk beat him to it.

As Sho Hyuk gently helped him stand upright, Youngjae looked up into his eyes. “Min Sung, Min Sung, Min Sung,” Youngjae repeated over and over his hands touching the other man's face tenderly, tears falling from his eyes.

"Yeah, it's me. No more lies, I promise." Sho Hyuk smiled at him.

Jaebeom's face fell and he suddenly felt like he'd been punched in the heart.

Youngjae clung to the man before him. “Why, why did you leave like that! Why? All these years, I thought you were dead...”

“Youngjae, I'm so sorry,” Sho Hyuk began interjecting him quickly, “I'm so, so sorry that I left you the way I did. I really didn't want to. I really, really didn't! But in the end, I had no choice.”

“Four years, I mourned you," Youngjae sobbed, "four years! And now, just when I'm trying so hard to move on from you, you appear before me and now I'm more confused than ever. I loved you so much. Did you really ever love me?”

“Sho Hyuk held his tears at bay, but Youngjae could see he was on the verge. So typical of his old Min Sung. “Did I ever love you? I just wanted this all over, wanted to be with you! I wouldn't have asked you to marry me if I didn't damn well love you. All those nights together, the love we made, the ring I bought you, of course I loved you! I still do! I never stopped loving you, Youngjae, and that's the truth.”

Youngjae looked shocked as Sho Hyuk spat the words out. 

“I really thought I'd never see you again, I told Hye Shik to tell you that I never really loved you, because I wanted you to hate me, to forget about me. Jackson knew I'd said that, but I know he never told you. I guess that question was already running through your mind and I don't blame you, I would have wondered the same thing. I just wanted to solve this case, put everyone in both timelines away and then go back to the System as if I had never existed in your life, but then, then these bastards threw you in the middle of all of this. This is what I worked so hard to avoid. I 'died' not just to save, the Guardianship or Jaebeom's ass, but because I wanted to keep you safe, I had no idea that my brother was involved in all of this until he showed up on the damn board of the Guardianship. I had to become one of them to solve this damn case. They should have told you how dangerous this was when you asked for the stupid case.” He said angrily.

“You should never have been involved, my 'death' was supposed to keep you away from all of this that you're now embroiled in. And now look at you.” Sho Hyuk stopped and wiped Youngjae's tears away and walked him back over to the bed. “You shouldn't even be moving around.” He said as he gently lay Youngjae back down and tucked him in. “You got shot and you can't even protect Jaebeom right now.”

Jaebeom? Youngjae's eyes widened, in all of the shock of Min Sung reappearing he'd totally forgotten about him. 

But right now he was too confused to even think straight. 

~*~

Jaebeom quietly left the house without saying a word he'd been too upset to even wait and see the outcome of the sudden and unexpected reunion. Heading for his car he grabbed the keys from his pocket and unlocked it. 

As he went to open his door to get in, it was abruptly shut again.

Jaebeom turned to face the person responsible.

"So, taking off is going to resolve all this, is it?" Jackson's disappointed face said it all.

"If you knew he was alive, why the hell didn't you say anything?" Jaebeom Snapped, opening his car door again, only to have Jackson slam it shut once more.

"Because he hadn't planned to see Youngjae ever again. But the fact he has now is our fault. We let Youngjae take your case, we had no idea that Sho Hyuk was a triple agent until around 24 hours ago. He's been investigating the whole case for the System the past four years as an anti-Guardian.  He and his agents have all worked tirelessly to try and put this case to rest. He never expected or wanted Youngjae to get involved in the whole damn thing. He was pretty angry, that we let him take this case. "

"Yeah, well, it's fine. I hereby fire Youngjae as my Guardian then," Jaebeom snapped as he opened the car door again.

"You're being ridiculous. Are you really going to just take off so close to wrapping this up?" Jackson snapped back.

"Close to wrapping this up? How the hell are we even close to that?" Jaebeom scoffed loudly.

"Because your uncle was finally apprehended," Jackson informed him.

"What?" Jaebeom looked stunned.

"And even as we speak, the rest of your family are being brought in, but we still have the others chasing you to contend with, including Ho Sung and his mentor. So you can either get in your car and run again, or you can man up and face the fact you have to deal with 'Min Sung' and accept his help with Ho Sung and his accomplices, however, if you run, you're doing the exact same thing to Youngjae as 'Min Sung' did."

"According to him he did it to protect the Guardianship, myself and Youngjae and you just said yourself, he never wanted Youngjae involved in this. So if I go, he won't be in danger any more, right? And besides Youngjae doesn't need me any more, he has him back now."

Jackson grabbed Jaebeom by the collar. "You know what pisses me off the most about you and Min Sung?" He pushed Jaebeom into the car's door frame with the door. "There are 2 things actually," he said angrily.

"Firstly, you're personalities are so close, that I want to knock you both out. Secondly, I've loved the idiot for so fucking long, but I'll never have the chance to be with him like you two have. And if you think for one minute, you leaving him, isn't going to hurt him just because Min Sung has returned from the dead, then you're stupider than you look."

Jackson let him go and backed up a few feet pointing at him. 

"If you love him, you'll see this through until the end." Jackson glared as he turned to leave, then stopped and turned back around. "Despite the fact your love for each other might only be short term, you could at least let Youngjae know he's worth fighting for. If I were in your shoes, I know I would, even though I already know what the outcome would be."

Jaebeom was frustrated, hurt and angry as he watched Jackson head back up to the house. At least one problem, his uncle, was out of the way and had obviously decided to take the rest of the murderous jerks down with him.

That was fine by him.

Moving out from in-between the door frame and the car door, Jaebeom slammed it shut and ran his fingers through his hair sighing. Jackson was right, and he hated that the most. leaving now would be unfair on everyone who'd been working hard to end this pathetic game of cat and mouse.,

And especially unfair on Youngjae, whether or not he ended up back together with Min Sung.

Within a second, Jaebeom made his decision, and with clenched fists, headed back up towards the house.

He would fight his family until the end.

And for Youngjae too.


	47. Chapter 47

After Sho Hyuk had settled Youngjae back into the bed and made sure he was suitably comfortable, he sat down on the chair near the bed and looked fondly at him.

Youngjae looked awkwardly back at his ex-lover. "So, what am I supposed to call you now? Min Sung, or Sho Hyuk?"

"What do you feel more comfortable with?" Sho Hyuk asked him sincerely.

Youngjae sat looking at him for a minute. Even after four years, he was still so very handsome and just as considerate as he'd been while they'd been together. "To me, you're always going to be Min Sung."

"Then for you, I am Min Sung." Sho Hyuk gave him a soft smile and Youngjae felt his heart race. It had been so long since he'd seen that look. Four long years and it still made him feel giddy.

"So," Sho Hyuk began, turning his attention back to Youngjae's condition. "Jackson said you have one more day before you can function fully as Jaebeom's Guardian again. So in order to protect you both, Mark and Jinyoung will be staying here with you and Jaebeom. Jackson, Bambam, Yugyeom and I will be heading to the safe house once I've briefed everyone on our next course of action."

"Why do you have to go? I really want you to stay. Can't you stay? I haven't spoken to you for four years, because you were supposed to be dead. At least give me that much. I  have so much I want to say to you. Things that I wanted to say back then, but just couldn't." Youngjae's face was full of disappointment.

Sho Hyuk sighed, then leant forward and hugged Youngjae. "It's not that I don't want to, I want you to know that. To be honest there is nothing more I would love than to sit with you and talk more. God knows I've missed you so damn much, but too many people here will draw attention. As it is I've already had to mask our presence here from the powers that be in the Guardianship."

"Mask? From the Guardianship? but why?" Youngjae asked a little confused.

"It will all come out during the briefing. Speaking of which," Sho Hyuk got up and opened the door. "Jackson, can you bring everyone back in here, please. It's time to get things back on track."

Jackson had virtually walked back into the house as Sho, Hyuk called out to him and he nodded and headed to the kitchen where the others were waiting.

"Okay, back to the room guys. Time to get the ball rolling." Jackson ushered them back to the room just as Jaebeom re-entered the house.

"Nice of you to rejoin us,"  Jackson said as Jaebeom held the door to the room open for him.

Jaebeom said nothing as he walked past into the room and straight to the far corner standing with his back to the walk, arms folded.

Youngjae avoided his gaze as Jaebeom glanced over at him briefly before looking away again. 

The uncomfortable interaction between the two didn't go unnoticed by Sho Hyuk as he caught it from out of the corner of his eye. and the tension in the air between them seemed to suddenly spike quite high, but there was no time to waste figuring out what the hell was going on.

"Now that we're all together, I'll begin," Sho Hyuk started as he looked around the room. "We have at least two days before the final move is made to kill our client. They know where you are, Jaebeom and they have Ho Sung and Han Seok Kwon in their side.

"Wait," Youngjae said looking a little perturbed. "Han Seok Kwon? But that's our boss's name?" He glanced over at Jackson confused.

"Yes, that's correct," Sho Hyuk confirmed. "At first we weren't sure he was involved even up until a couple of days ago. But after Jackson found the missing information hidden in his office. It confirms our suspicions. We've been leaving him, clues as to your whereabouts. But nothing so open that he'll find you before time. He'll more than likely portal himself and Ho Sung here  once he knows the others are on this property."

"Why the hell are you leaving him clues? Jaebeom snapped. "You're supposed to be protecting me not trying to get me killed."

"This is where the plan comes in to play. For the next day or so, the four of us," he said drawing a circle around himself and the other three, "We will be heading to the safe house and remain there until we get the notification from Mark that the boundary has been breached. He and Jinyoung will be staying here with Youngjae and Jaebeom just in case our calculations for their arrival are off. They shouldn't be, but the fact that Ho Sung and your boss can portal it is not a good thing."

"What if they decide to meet up with and portal the others too?" Jaebeom said with an unimpressed look. "Did you think of that?"

Sho Hyuk heard the sarcasm in Jaebeom's voice and he carefully responded. "I'll be setting up some of the System's newest technology inside the house itself. It's, simple and effective. They won't know what hit them," Sho Hyuk replied casually.

Jaebeom scoffed. "Yeah, I know that feeling." 

Youngjae looked over at Jaebeom catching his eye this time. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jaebeom gave a scornful half laugh and turned away 

"Why are you being so hostile? Min Sung's trying to save your life," Youngjae reminded him.

The whole room remained silent as the tension between the two skyrocketed.

Jaebeom turned his head away.

"Anyway," Jackson said gruffly, glaring at Jaebeom, "please, continue."

"Our ultimate goal is to capture and arrest, both my brother and Kwon. But in order to do this I need your full cooperation, you especially, Jaebeom." 

Jaebeom looked over at Sho Hyuk intending to say something akin to an insult, but Youngjae glared at him and he changed his mind and politely asked, "So, what do I need to do? " 

Sho Hyuk suddenly gave him a mischievous grin.

Jaebeom swallowed nervously wondering just how bad it could be.

~*~

An hour and a half later and despite Youngjae's begging Sho Hyuk and the other three left, leaving Mark and Jinyoung behind with Jaebeom and Youngjae.

Mark and Jinyoung set about making themselves food in the kitchen, while Youngjae slept after having another dose of the painkiller.

Jaebeom took the opportunity, to take his stuff to the other bedroom. 

Mark happened to look out of the kitchen doorway, just in time to see Jaebeom's miserable face walking past carrying his bag.

"I'll be back in a minute, I need to speak to Jaebeom," he informed Jinyoung who nodded and continued to eat his food.

Mark took a peek around the door frame to see Jaebeom lying on the bed still looking as miserable as hell.

"You fell for him, didn't you?" Mark said from the doorway with crossed arms and a knowing look.

Jaebeom just sighed.

"Yup, you did and pretty hard too by the looks of things," Mark said walking up to the bed and sitting on the edge."So, three things I've noticed here so far, other than this."

"Mark, why do you always do this at the most inopportune times?" Jaebeom looked over at him.

"Because, you, are the kind guy that needs slapping in the face with the obvious," Mark replied. "Right now you're feeling insecure and scared..."

"That I already know, get to the point," Jaebeom requested

"Firstly you need to get your ass back by Youngjae's side, secondly, you can't just assume he's going to get back together with Sho but, with the way you're acting, you're not giving him any reason not to. Thirdly, I've not met Youngjae before now, but Sho has told me a lot about him and Youngjae, he's not the type to be so shallow. You need to man up and go talk to him, but be there when he wakes up. According to Sho, Youngjae's not the greatest at saying outright how he feels, but he'll tell you if he doesn't want you as a partner."

"What planet are you from? You saw how they were all over each other before Sho left." Jaebeom sighed." The guy still loves Youngjae, he told him, he'd never stopped loving him. How can I compete with such a strong conviction and connection?"

"You have both of those with Youngjae too. Has he reciprocated?" 

"If you're asking me if he has feelings for me, he said he did, but his Min Sung is back. They were engaged, Mark."

"So? That was in the past, you sound like you've already decided for him, that he's going back to Sho."

"It's not that, it's just..."

"Don't even give me any more of your bullshit excuses," Mark said as he pulled him Jaebeom up from the bed, "You're not even giving Youngjae have a chance to speak to you about this," he said pushing him out of the room. You really love Youngjae, right??" Mark questioned as he continued to push him back to the doorway of the other room.

"Of course I love him. I really do want to fight for him. But at the same time, I'm so torn between wanting him to be happy and wanting to be selfish. And I know it's stupid, because our time together is limited anyway and, yes, I know life isn't fair, but for the first time in my life I've been truly happy, despite all the damn drama."

"Then get your ass back in there and prove to him you're there for him, even if he does choose Sho. That's why you didn't run again right. You came back in because you are willing to fight. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and get your Youngjae loving ass in there," Mark pointed into the room.

Jaebeom looked at him and Mark shoved him into the room. "Go love your man, you idiot."

Jaebeom sighed and slowly turned to face Youngjae. He sighed and forced himself to walk over to the bed.

Studying the younger man's face intently. Then taking a deep breath in he gently crawled under the covers with him.

Looking at Youngjae's face again, Jaebeom, thought about everything they'd been through together, the memories they had made up to this point and he finally smiled. 

"You know how sometimes you don't know how to express your feelings? Well occasionally I have the same issue, so yeah, I'm really sorry for being such an ass," he began whispering to the sleeping young man. "If I were braver I'd say it to your face. I guess what I am saying is, that I'm just not ready to lose you this soon, but I love you, and as much as I'm scared of losing you back to him, you were his first, so," Jaebeom paused swallowing back his rising emotions, "so it's okay if you want to go back to him. I won't stop you if that's what you really want." He felt a little stupid talking to a sleeping person and he went to get up again.

Suddenly he felt an arm snake around his waist underneath the blankets pulling him back in and Youngjae snuggled up to him. "We'll talk later, sleep now," he whispered back kissing Jaebeom on the cheek.

Jaebeom smiled a little embarrassed that he'd actually been heard, but happy he'd been forgiven, as Youngjae rested his forehead against his.

No matter what happened now, he would stay by Youngjae's side until the end.


	48. Chapter 48

Mark and Jinyoung had cleaned up their mess in the kitchen and had commandeered the room that Mark had kicked Jaebeom out of earlier.

Mark wandered back in after checking on the other two and crawled into bed with Jinyoung.  

"How were they?" Jinyoung asked as Mark snuggled up to him under the covers. 

"Sleeping in each other's arms quite comfortably," Mark reported. "Jaebeom fell for him quite hard. I'm not sure how this is gonna go for them. Sho may have died as Min Sung, but he's still pretty much in love with Youngjae, even after four years." 

"I kind of feel sorry for Jaebeom, all this shoved onto him, and then 'Min Sung' returns and even though he had a bit of a meltdown over it, he still remains loyal to Youngjae," Jinyoung noted. "Do you think Youngjae will remain here for the 6 months he has to remain here for? Or do you think he'll go back to the future with Sho?"

Mark shrugged. "No idea. According to Jackson,  it was 6 months or when he learned his lesson or when the job was over."

"I guess we won't know until it happens," Jinyoung said with a yawn.

Mark rubbed Jinyoung's arm and smiled at him. "I'll take the first watch, you get some sleep."

Jinyoung gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, I appreciate it," he said as he rolled over into his side. "Wake me if something happens."

"Don't worry I will."

~*~

"I told you, you should have gotten rid of the information" Ho Sung snapped.

"There would have been no way that anyone should have even known about that compartment or the information in it." Han Seok snapped back. "Anyway, what does it matter? Once we make our final move it will be all over."

"That idiot uncle of his was caught you know? What if he throws our names in the deep end?" Ho Sung sighed in frustration.

"What's he going to tell the police. 'Oh, we've been in cahoots with an organisation from the future who can travel back in time via these portals that appear out of nowhere?' How do you think that will go down in their eyes?"

"I suppose you're right,"  Ho Sung agreed.  "They would look extremely stupid, insane even."

"Speaking of insane where is that brother of yours?"

"He sent me a message," Ho Sung told Han Seok.  "He's in the badlands still trying to track down the Guardianship's informant. The signal is so bad out there, that it's impossible to reach him any longer, so there's no way he'll be back in time to join us. Although I might give him one more day. Those two aren't going anywhere"

"Ah, shame I know he was looking forward to bringing Im down." Han Seok smiled. "Anyway this time tomorrow evening the others should have arrived at Im's location."

"What about Youngjae?" Ho Sung questioned him. "You going to finish him off too?" 

"Of course," Han Seok huffed. "He's the one we'll need to watch. His skills as a Guardian are no laughing matter. We might have to take him out first to get to Im."

"Somebody thinks we're stupid though.” Ho Sung gave a sarcastic laugh. “Leaving us clues to find him. We've known where he was all along because of the watch you gave Jackson to give to him and the stupid thing is, they haven't even remembered. If it wasn't for the fact it's been so much fun watching them run around like idiots, while the other idiots are chasing them we could have killed Im and Choi already."

"True. But we almost got Choi. Shame that he was just that little bit too fast in escaping, for the other idiots to finish him off,” Han Seok smirked. “I know they shot him, but he would have alerted Jackson and the others no doubt. That means they'll have him back up and active very soon. Maybe we should move the attack up instead of delaying it?”

Ho Sung gave him a hearty pat on the back. “Why rush things? I think leaving it a day later is perfect. Two of us, six of them against one Guardian and a weak little man and them expecting us to attack at a specific time and date and we don't. That's got to throw them into a panic.”

“But they'll call for reinforcements once we make ourselves known we need to remember that!” Han Seok folded his arms.

“Even if they have reinforcements so do we.” Ho Sung reminded him. “Just because that other idiot managed to get caught because he let himself be tricked into breaking into his nephew's place due to his damn greed, doesn't mean the rest of them are blinded completely by it. They've stayed on his tail thanks to the tracking device. Anyway, let's go through the strategics once again and add the extra day into the equation. It gives us more time to think of more ideas too. For the 'just in case' scenarios.”

“As long as the plan works, and we kill Im Jaebeom,” Han Seok began, with a callous grin, “I'll be perfectly happy!”

~*~

Sho Hyuk sighed as they began to lay out the map of the area surrounding Jaebeom's childhood get away. 

Jackson noticed he'd been acting a little odd ever since they got back. "Why don't you give yourself an hour and go see him."

"I can't," Sho Hyuk said firmly.

"Why not you stubborn ass? Four years wasn't long enough?  You must have missed him a lot. Especially since you were still carrying your feelings for him."

"You have no idea how many nights I cried myself to sleep for after the whole thing happened, and you know me, Jackson, I never cry. I'd just asked him to marry me, so I was devastated. It might as well have been Youngjae that died the way I felt after. I not only carried my feelings for him, but the guilt of putting him through that, but," Sho Hyuk sighed again. "just because I'm back doesn't give me the right to claim him back as my lover. I love him, but so does Jaebeom."

"Ah, so you did notice then?" Jackson said trying not to be too unsympathetic with the situation. 

"You could say that. Even though Youngjae and I reconnected today and he's forgiven me for everything, there is the complication of Jaebeom." 

"Youngjae is a little confused right now about his feelings, but Jaebeom isn't a permanent fixture. He can't be and he knows it. Both of them do. So just go already."  Jackson encouraged. 

"I can't. Not right now. Youngjae and I made a decision together today and he needs to let Jaebeom know. So until I have to be there. I'm staying right here. We need to get this sorted first." Sho nodded at the map. "Saving Im's life is the most important thing. So we need to concentrate on that. What we all want doesn't matter right now, but what happens to the future does."

~*~

As the morning light entered in through the curtains, Jaebeom's eyes fluttered open and he blinked as he began to focus. 

Youngjae was already awake and watching him. 

Collecting his thoughts he remembered what had happened and his heart sank again.  

He had been so happy when Youngjae had forgiven him and allowed him to join him under the covers for sleep, that of course, it took away the immediate sting of "Min Sung's return.

He automatically sighed and averted his gaze away from Youngjae's and sat up. "I'm sorry, Youngjae.' 

Youngjae smiled and sat up too. "Why are you sorry?"

"Because I still feel like an ass for yesterday and I just crawled right back into your bed without permission. I mean since Min Sung is back it's probably not appropriate for me to be in the same bed as you but I just wanted to be with you one more night before mm mph." 

Youngjae shoved a hand over his mouth. "You had my permission, you idiot. I dragged you back down when you went to try and leave, remember?" He looked into Jaebeom's eyes and gave him a soft smile. "You really do go on when you're nervous and stressed about things don't you?" 

Jaebeom just nodded Youngjae's hand remained there for a few seconds while he spoke. 

"I need to talk to you about some things. Especially since things have gotten a little complicated because of yesterday. But, I would like you to listen and not interrupt me. Can you do that for me please?"

Again Jaebeom nodded and then Youngjae took his hand away from his mouth.

"When I saw Min Sung come through that portal, I couldn't believe it. He was supposed to be dead, but there he was in front of me. My heart raced and the memories we shared in the past all came flooding back." Youngjae stopped and sighed. "It was like time had stopped and he had never left. Later when we talked, we didn't just talk about him and I. We also  talked about you and I."

"Look, Youngjae, I already said it was okay for you to go back to him. I understand." Jaebeom said, smiling bravely as his heart ached internally.

"I love the fact you do, love me enough to let me go and that you understand what we mean to each other. So Min Sung and I made a joint decision after talking yesterday. It wasn't something that we both took lightly, and we both felt it was for the best."

Jaebeom's hands clenched into fists. He took a deep breath in letting it out slowly, bracing himself for the heartbreaking news that he knew was inevitable.

Youngjae smiled softly at him and gently placed his hands over Jaebeom's clenched fists.

"Jaebeom," he began.


	49. Chapter 49

"Jaebeom, Youngjae began.

"Min Sung and I, we're not getting back together."

Jaebeom blinked. "Wait? what?" Had he heard that right?

Youngjae smiled at him. "We're not getting back together, well at least not right now. I am somewhat confused about a lot of things right now but, when Min Sung realised that something was going on between you and I, he asked and I told him the truth. He also knows I intend to be intimate with you at some stage. I have feelings for you that I can't deny. I honestly do care for you a lot, and he knows by your reactions yesterday how much you love me. It must have been just as much of a shock for you when it all happened? Jackson said you tried to leave. I'm so glad you didn't. Min Sung knows you and I have a limited amount of time together, but he said that it was important I keep my word to you and I will. He didn't want to just take me away from you and frankly as much as I am thrilled he's alive, he said himself that he isn't my current partner. And he and I are not so shallow that we'd run off together. Although he did say, that if you dare try and run off again, without warning he will not hesitate to come and steal me away from you." Youngjae gave him a stern look.

Jaebeom was silent for a moment. He really wasn't sure how to process all of this, but somehow, he was still Youngjae's boyfriend. At least for now. “I'm really not too sure of what to say. You're telling me that he said we should stay together for now but is that what you want too? You love him still, right?”

“Right now it's complicated. I have feelings for both you and Min Sung. But you and I have the most recent connection. Min Sung and I need to work things through once I return home to the future. I'll be staying for a few days after this is all over. I'm not just going to up and leave right after. Not after what we have been through together. Even Min Sung said that wasn't fair.”

Jaebeom was dumbfounded. Youngjae was still willing to stay with him even after this was over and Min Sung encouraged it? Granted it would only be for a few days, but still, the very thought made him smile.

“That's better,” Youngjae grinned seeing Jaebeom's smile finally return. No more of this morbid face of yours. You're just as handsome as Min Sung and I care for you just as much, so don't feel like you have to compare yourself to him. I like you just the way you are, hyung.”

Jaebeom blushed a little and then looked over at him. “So how's your side?”

Youngjae looked down at it and made a face. “I actually feel fine. I'm going to take a look,” he said as he began to pull off his dressing. 

“Wait!” Jaebeom protested

Youngjae stopped as he reached for the dressing. “What's wrong?” 

“I'll get the new dressing and painkillers ready just in case.” Jaebeom's voice carried the concern in it and Youngjae nodded, continuing to remove the dressing.

“Oh, it's almost gone.” Youngjae looked at Jaebeom and grinned.

Jaebeom stared at the wound area in awe. “Wow, it's like the tiniest of scars now.”

“Mhm, and I really don't feel any pain at all anymore.” Youngjae seemed extremely pleased then suddenly he prodded himself over the area causing Jaebeom to wince a little. “A day early too. Nice. Absolutely no pain.” he gave Jaebeom a mischievous grin and got up. “Don't you dare move stay right here.”

Jaebeom gave him a puzzled look. “Where are you going?”

“Just to the bathroom, but I mean it! Don't you move? I'll be right back.” Youngjae sprung off the bed and headed out of the room leaving Jaebeom to shake his head at the younger man's sudden excitement of being able to go to the bathroom on his own.

~*~

Jinyoung and Mark had just finished breakfast when Youngjae bounded into the kitchen.

“You're up and about, everything okay now then?” Jinyoung asked nodding at his side. Youngjae pulled his nightshirt up. “Almost gone. No pain and so,” Youngjae looked around to make sure Jaebeom hadn't followed him. “I think you two should go and do a boundary check and take about an hour or so, ” he said quite calmly.

“Why?” Jinyoung asked.

“You have an hour.” Mark grabbed Jinyoung by the shoulder and started dragging him out of the kitchen. “You owe me, Choi!”

“Mark, wait. What's going on?” Jinyoung asked as he was pulled out of the house.

Youngjae waited until the door was shut and then he hurried back to the bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind him and then jumped onto the bed and crawled up to Jaebeom.

“Why did Mark and Jinyoung suddenly leave the house?” Jaebeom asked giving him a suspicious look.

“Boundary check,” Youngjae said as he moved up closer to Jaebeom and put his arms over his shoulders.

“So then why did you lock the door?” Jaebeom's face was so close to Youngjae's now.

“Because I could,” he replied with a smirk, his eyes connecting with Jaebeom's “And because I thought that...” 

Youngjae didn't finish his sentence Jaebeom's lips were firmly planted against his own. 

Jaebeom had figured it out and he wasn't going to let this moment go to waste. “Are you sure?” he asked breaking the kiss briefly before Youngjae pulled him back to him and recommenced it.

Taking that as a 'hell yes', Jaebeom wasted no time in removing Youngjae's night clothes before quickly undressing. 

“We only have an hour,” Youngjae gasped as Jaebeom's mouth found his nipples gently sucking and nipping them between his teeth.

“Last time? Are you sure?” Jaebeom asked him again his face straight and his voice quite serious and firm.

“Yes, damn it. Very sure! I want to know what it's like to make love to you. If I don't do this with you now, I know I'll go back and be wishing for the rest of my life that I had done so. I want no regrets.” Youngjae's voice was firm and commanding

Jaebeom gently kissed him again pushing him back down onto the bed, slowly whispering kisses down over his chest and abdomen before grasping the throbbing erection that met his gaze. 

Youngjae's eyes closed as he felt Jaebeom's mouth take him and he shuddered as the sensation flowed through his body as Jaebeom slowly and gently sucked his cock making him shiver with anticipation. 

As Jaebeom licked the tip, Youngjae's hips bucked and he let out a quiet moan.

Youngjae's hands gripped the bed sheets as Jaebeom began to suck a little harder up and down, his tongue twisting into the tiny hole at the tip and Youngjae began to writhe a little more now.

Jaebeom looked up as he continued to pleasure the younger man and the look on Youngjae's face made him quicken his actions.

“Keep that up and I'm not going to be able to control myself,” Youngjae told him his voice quiet and raspy as he tried hard not to cry out. He wanted this to be memorable not just a quick damn fuck.

Jaebeom released Youngjae's cock from his mouth and flipped him over. “What can we use for lube?” He suddenly remembered as the lack of foresight they'd both had about this was quite obvious.

Youngjae pointed up at the bedside table. “My hand lotion there,” he said as he lifted his buttocks up to Jaebeom's cock and waited. Seconds later he gasped as he felt a finger enter into his back passage, then a second and third, Jaebeom scissoring them as wide and as deep as he could.

Youngjae groaned loudly. It had been a long time since anyone had made him feel this good. Pushing his hips backwards Youngjae forced Jaebeom's fingers as far as they could go.

Jaebeom chuckled as Youngjae made a noise something akin to a squeak as he obviously found his sweet spot, then removing his fingers from inside the younger man he lubed his cock up with the lotion.

“Are you okay with me doing this without a condom? I mean it's not like I thought we'd be doing this now and planned for it.”

“Im Jaebeom, now is not exactly the right time to be your wonderfully thoughtful self. We don't have ice or handcuffs either. Do you hear me asking if that's okay? Now just damn well take me before I go insane waiting.” Youngjae demanded.

Jaebeom laughed and gently began to ease himself into Youngjae's very tight hole.

“FUCK!!” Youngjae exclaimed when he felt his anus stretch as Jaebeom's cock breached his anal cavity, “Oh my god, you're so damn big. Maybe I should have asked for ice!” 

Jaebeom chuckled and almost as if it were repayment for doing so, Youngjae pushed hard back onto him and Jaebeom gasped loudly as he felt his cock finally slide all the way inside.

He stopped to let Youngjae adjust. “You alright?”

“You, Im Jaebeom, are too sweet, but yes I'm fine, now please stop asking me a question every five minutes and make love to me. This may be my first time with you, but I'm no virgin. I can take much more than this and I'm expecting great things from you, but you need to get this started so you can achieve this.”

Jaebeom grinned at Youngjae's playfulness and shook his head. “You asked for it!” 

“Yes, I did actually,” Youngjae agreed. “Now, how about you give it!?”

Without another word, Jaebeom thrust forward and Youngjae yelped, grabbing the bed with both hands as Jaebeom suddenly showed him who was in charge. 

Youngjae's face showed the mix of pain and pleasure as Jaebeom thrust into him over and over again. 

Jaebeom, deciding Youngjae's back was not what he wanted to see during their lovemaking, pulled out and flipped the young man over pushing himself straight back into him and thrusting harder, looking at the younger man with intent.

Youngjae found himself blushing at seeing the look on Jaebeom's face. He was taking this very seriously now concentrating on every thrust, hitting his sweet spot, continuously making him feel good and he could feel the rising urge within. His moans started to turn into small soft pants and he grabbed his cock and began to pump. Jaebeom's hand joined his and Youngjae began to feel the effects of Jaebeom's labour build in his own loins as Jaebeom thrust into him from above and pumped his cock in unison with him.

Youngjae began to pant faster as he felt the rising euphoria. “Oh shit, Jaebeom, fuck, I'm, I'm,” Youngjae's face contorted, his eyes closed and his head pushed back into the pillows as he shuddered and his cock pulsated, spitting out its contents causing Youngjae to grit his teeth as the intensity of his orgasm hit him.

Jaebeom continued to pump Youngjae's cock until the last drop of come had left its sanctuary and then began to build his speed up again as he drove himself hard.

Youngjae watched as Jaebeom continued to thrust himself deep inside him and he could see that Jaebeom's face showed the signs of an impending orgasm itself. Jaebeom was near on grunting now as he started to lose a little of the self-control he'd had earlier.

Youngjae reached up and began to gently rub and play with Jaebeom's nipples tweaking them between his fingers, then gently rubbing his hands up over his sides causing Jaebeom to shiver a little and then he lost it completely. 

Jaebeom began to thrust wildly as he felt his own cock begin to spasm. His mouth opened slightly as his orgasm peaked, his cock pulsating hard as it emptied its precious seed inside of Youngjae. As his orgasm finally subsided, Jaebeom collapsed, his energy spent, on top of the younger man, panting hard and trying to get a grip of his senses again.

Jaebeom gave an exhausted smile as he felt warm arms wrap around him and soft lips pressed against his cheeks and he felt he had to say it despite the situation “I really do love you, Youngjae.” 

“I know,” Youngjae replied sincerely as he hugged Jaebeom tightly.

“Can I ask you something?” Jaebeom ventured.

“Mhm,” Youngjae began, “what would you like to know?”

“If things were different if you could stay with me, would you?” 

Youngjae sighed and pursed his lips. “If Min Sung hadn't have come back, that would be the easiest thing for me to answer. Before it would have been an instant, yes, but things are so complicated right now.”

Jaebeom's face contorted into disappointment.

“Don't get me wrong, I really meant it when I said I cared about you a lot and I really wanted us to be intimate. It's just a bit confusing right now with Min Sung back. I said I wanted no regrets and I loved every second of our intimacy. However, I feel guilty for having been intimate with you when I will end up going back and to him no doubt.”

Jaebeom sighed and nodded. “I won't ask again. I can see it's causing you conflict and I'm sorry.”

“I'm the one who should be sorry. You're very sweet and caring. I shouldn't even be thinking of Min Sung when I'm with you.”

“It's okay Youngjae you spent a few years together,” Jaebeom replied sincerely. “You thought he was dead for four and now suddenly he's alive. I guess I'd be ecstatic too if someone I thought dead wasn't. Of course it would be hard.”

“The fact you're being so nice about it all right now is making me feel awful. I wish I could just love you and be done with it!” Youngjae said frustrated at his own lack of control over the situation.

“The fact you think that way is good enough,” Jaebeom said with a warm smile. “Let's not mention it again, let's just live in the moment. I'm happy with that.”

“I like that idea a lot.” Youngjae agreed. “Let's do just that!”

Jaebeom smiled, but his heart ached inside. Even though it was temporary and he knew it, he really did want it to be different. 

If there was a way in the end for him to be with Youngjae, he sincerely hoped it would find its way to him.


	50. Chapter 50

After their intimate interlude, Jaebeom had, had his shower and Youngjae went for his.

Heading back out to the kitchen to grab himself a drink, Jaebeom still in his dressing gown was intercepted by Mark in the hallway.

“What's up with Youngjae?” Mark asked curiously.

Jaebeom gave him a puzzled look. “What's wrong with him? He just went for a shower, that's all.”

“Did you two argue? Youngjae looked seriously bummed out when he walked through here a minute ago,” Mark informed him. 

“Argue? No. He seemed fine when he left the room.” Jaebeom answered honestly.

“Are you sure?” Mark pressed. “He seemed to be apologising to you under his breath as he walked by.”

“Really? That's odd. Why would he be apologising for, he's done nothing wrong at all." Jaebeom stood puzzled, trying to think of a reason why Youngjae would suddenly be acting so strange. "Ahh, that idiot," Jaebeom sighed affectionately as he realised what was going on and running off down the corridor post haste.

Jinyoung came out of the kitchen and threw Mark a questioning look.

“I have no idea,” Mark replied with a shrug. 

~*~ 

Youngjae stood under the warm water as it flowed down over him and he sighed, placing his hands on the wall in front of him, looking down at the shower floor.

His eyes closed thinking about the intimacy he had just shared with Jaebeom and a second sigh escaped him.

The conflict he felt right now was overwhelming. 

The feelings he'd developed for Jaebeom couldn't be dismissed, but seeing Min Sung again really had thrown his heart into a whirlwind of emotions and it made him anxious. 

As much as Youngjae had really loved being intimate with Jaebeom, he now felt as guilty as hell. 

It wasn't that he regretted the intimacy; definitely not, because Jaebeom had obviously wanted it just as much as he had.

It wasn't that hard to figure out once Jaebeom's lips had connected with his own and the passion Jaebeom had put into it had been enough to make him giddy.

But Jaebeom really loved him, and that was the problem.

This really wasn't fair, he had only just come to terms with Min Sung's death and his feelings for Jaebeom and Min Sung just had to go and portal right back into his life.

Youngjae shook his head. He needed to focus on the mission at hand and Jaebeom. 

But this was distracting.

Jaebeom was, as Min Sung said, Youngjae's current partner, his boyfriend, and he should be treating him as such.

That's the kind of person Min Sung really was considerate and kind, understanding and accepting, but then again, so had Jaebeom been, even after his outburst. 

That was to be expected though. 

It had been a big shock for both of them.

Yet even after four years the feelings Youngjae had desperately tried to let go of for Min Sung still lingered.

However, it had been Jaebeom, who'd taken care of him after he'd drunk himself stupid both times. 

It was Jaebeom who had taken him to the carnival and booked the whole place out for him, then took him to the puppy cafe afterwards and it was Jaebeom who had been there for him after he'd been shot. 

It was almost like Jaebeom had been his Guardian instead.

That man had stayed by his side and not once complained that any of it had been too much. 

Jaebeom's love and kindness had reopened the lock that he'd put on his heart four years ago and now Youngjae was confused and conflicted and he now began to think that being intimate with Jaebeom may have made things worse, for Jaebeom.

Or in reality for himself. 

Because he'd allowed Jaebeom to fall for him, and he for Jaebeom, and that was something that should never have happened. 

Even though both he and Jaebeom had agreed to part ways amicably, Youngjae knew he'd be returning with Min Sung to the future and that would hurt Jaebeom like hell.

And maybe it would hurt him a little too.

Gently, he tapped his forehead on the shower wall, his frustration seeping out through the constant small sighs he kept emitting, then he turned around and slid his back down it until he was sitting on the floor, head on his arms, over his knees. 

Suddenly Youngjae became aware of another body present with him on the shower floor and two strong arms wrapped around him from the front pulling him into a firm, but gentle embrace. 

“Min Sung?” Youngjae whispered tearfully as he looked up, his eyes connecting with the big brown ones that were looking lovingly back at him.

But it wasn't Min Sung.

Jaebeom could see the sadness, conflict and confusion in Youngjae's eyes and even though it had been Min Sung's name that Youngjae had uttered, Jaebeom said nothing as he held him in his arms, allowing the younger man to let all the built up emotion pour freely out as he clung to Jaebeom's drenched dressing gown, sobbing into his chest.

Stroking Youngjae's wet hair gently, Jaebeom whispered in his ear.

“If you need to go to him now, then go, but I want you to know that I could never hate you and I will always be here for you and Min Sung, now and in the future. But never, for a second, think that I blame you for any of this because I don't!”

Jaebeom's voice was warm and sincere, and Youngjae clung to him tighter.

“And I promise you that whatever happens, I will be fine; and I'll always be happy, just because you came into my life. Even though it's only been for a short time, I'll never regret the decision we made to be together, or the intimacy we just shared. I gave you my love freely, knowing you might not be able to fully give it back. There never was and never will be conditions on my love for you. There's nothing you need to apologise for.”

Jaebeom kissed him on the forehead softly.

And Youngjae sobbed harder.


	51. Chapter 51

Jackson rushed over to Sho Hyuk, his face full of concern. "Oiy, you. This is all your fault!"

"What did I do now?" He asked a little taken aback. 

"Played dead for four years, that's what, and now our best Guardian is having a bloody mental breakdown over there," Jackson replied slightly more than annoyed.

"What?" Sho Hyuk sighed flicked his watch and portalled straight over into the hallway of the other place.

Seeing the door to Youngjae's room was shut, he headed to the kitchen to see if he could find out what happened before heading in.

Jinyoung was making himself a coffee as Sho Hyuk rounded the corner.

"Ask Mark," was the first thing Jinyoung said before Sho Hyuk could say a word. "He's in the lounge doing a puzzle."

"Right, thanks, er Jinyoung, wasn't it?" Sho Hyuk asked.

Jinyoung just nodded and went back to his coffee.

Sho Hyuk headed for the lounge and found Mark staring down at the table in front of him.

Mark looked up immediately. "Come to fix the mess you made have you?"

"Apparently so," Sho Hyuk sighed. "So what happened?"

"Youngjae asked Jinyoung and I to leave the house for an hour or so. If you get my drift. The next thing you know, Youngjae's acting weird on his way to the bathroom apologising under his breath to Jaebeom. So I told Jaebeom and he runs into the bathroom and then  comes out of the bathroom about 5 minutes later  carrying a sobbing towel covered Youngjae back into the bedroom."

Sho Hyuk sighed and bit his lip. "I'm not too sure that going in there will help though. I'm probably the last person who should be with him right now. I'm not Youngjae's partner right now and It's unfair on  Jaebeom or Youngjae, for me to just suddenly wander in there and take over. I've already told Youngjae I'm fine with this arrangement. Until we head back to the future once all this is over. I want him to be with Jaebeom.  I can't give him what he needs right now," Sho Hyuk said with a sigh. "I can't give him anything until this is all over.  I have to stay focused on the mission at hand. And that can be kind of hard around someone you love. Especially after four years of not having them in your life."

"So basically you're avoiding him as much as possible, still." Mark raised his eyebrows, "a bit of a cop-out really."

"I agree with Mark."

Sho Hyuk turned at Jaebeom's voice joining the conversation.

"I third that motion," Jinyoung added following behind Jaebeom, with his coffee in hand.

"Why are you even here if you're not going to bother seeing him?" Jaebeom snapped.

"I was worried, Jackson gave me the heads up about Youngjae. I just wanted to know if he was okay." He paused gathering his thoughts for a moment. "Look, I spent the last four years hating myself for how things went down. Knowing that I had to 'die' as Min Sung in order to complete this mission as Sho Hyuk, I was hurting too. All I  could do was think of Youngjae. Wondering how he was coping if he was eating and taking care of himself properly. Instead, I find out every year the night before the anniversary of my 'death' he drinks himself to oblivion and he started causing trouble as a Guardian. Which ended him up here, mixed up in this whole mess, exactly where I didn't want him to be."

"You do know that it was the Guardianship's boss, the bad guy,  that sent Youngjae to stay in the past right?" Jaebeom began. "But it was Jackson's idea for him to stay with me. And  Youngjae only took my case because the boss had told him it was an easy job. Jackson said he only knew who I was because the boss told him after, he convinced Youngjae to take my case. the boss also told Jackson, that there was no one to replace him as my Guardian when Youngjae decided I was as boring as batshit and wanted something else. So everything right from the beginning has been twisted. The only true part that  Youngjae and the others knew at the time was that my family were trying to kill me because they were after my inheritance.   Of course, we all know now how deep this really is now, especially since I'm the one to create the Guardianship and the technology it uses.* 

Jaebeome sighed and then continued. "What I don't get is how I develop that kind of technology so fast.  I know the company is pretty damned awesome, but even so, I'm still not fully involved in its operation and can't be until this is all over. So my skill level is a little under par at this point. I'd need a lot of intensive training and knowledge. More so than I have right now."

Sho Hyuk's mind raced. There was something else going on here.  Anti-Guardians normally didn't target those who weren't involved directly in the cause and effect of a situation,  but it seemed that the boss had gone out of his way to get Youngjae involved, putting him directly in the line of fire using his out of control behaviour as an excuse, then he realised it. "Shit! This has just gotten a whole lot more complicated." Sho Hyuk sighed. "I should have realised this," he berated himself. "Why the hell didn't I see it sooner? Damn it!"

It wasn't hard to see just was angry and frustrated Sho Hyuk was at himself, but at the same time Jaebeom noted a deep sadness there and he figured that the poor man must now be at his wit's end.

"Why, what is it?" Mark asked curiously 

"I can't say right now.  This all needs to pan out itself. In the meantime, I will go see Youngjae, because this will probably be the last chance for me to talk to him"  He nodded and headed out of the room. 

"Anyone know what he means by that?" Jinyoung asked. "The last chance for him to talk to Youngjae? That kind of sounded serious."

Mark shrugged and glanced over at Jaebeom.

"Your guess is as good as ours."

~*~

Youngjae lay curled up he was half asleep when. Sho Hyuk walked into the room and over to the bed.

Sitting on the edge Sho Hyuk gently began to stroke Youngjae's hair. "It seems my being here has caused you great distress. It never would have happened if I'd been better at my job, I should have had this wrapped up by now. But I just couldn't get that last piece of the puzzle without Jackson's help.

Youngjae reached up and held out his hand. 

Sho Hyuk took it in his and smiled. "You know, Jaebeom's very worried about you. Even Mark must have been because he sent Jackson for me." Sho Hyuk began  "What's really bothering you Youngjae, I know you. It may have been four years since we last saw each other, but I can tell there's so much more going on with you right now."

Youngjae pulled himself upright and wrapped his arms around Sho Hyuk. 

Sho Hyuk smiled and gently hugged him.back. "Come on you, out with it."

Youngjae sighed. "Why didn't you tell me what was going on back then? I could have helped. We could have brought the Anti-Guardians down together? I really would have helped you."

Sho Hyuk broke the embrace and gently moved Youngjae back from him a little looking him in the eyes and softly smiling at him. "The system made things hard enough for me as it was with protocols and classified information. They didn't want anyone else involved. I didn't want you involved. You meant and do still mean so much to me!” He sighed and then continued.

“Once my brother and some of the others who were with him, infiltrated the Guardianship, things became complicated. It was getting harder to play three roles at once. Once he told me he was an anti-Guardian and what their plans were, I knew what I had to do. I had to join them, to unravel this case, but,  I had to do something to prove myself to them first, which is why I asked the board for permission to  give the Anti-Guardians the least damaging information about the Guardians,  but the ironic thing is that the board betrayed me.” 

Sho Hyuk laughed sarcastically at the thought. 

"I was getting too close to usurping a few of them, so I was made the scapegoat. My brother told me they were planning on killing me, using the excuse that I was a danger to the Guardianship for leaking the information. He found out they planned to set me up on that last mission you and I did together and then, that's when my death was 'arranged'. It was literally the set up to override the setup.” 

He watched Youngjae's face as he spoke and the younger man didn't look happy about that at all.

“On one hand, it would make life easier to investigate all this, but on the other, the thought of having to cut ties from you killed me inside, but my hands were tied. It was the only way to ensure your safety and increase my chances of putting these dogs down. However, the board has recently figured out I'm alive.”

“But how?” Youngjae asked.

“The system raided the board a few weeks ago. Arrested most of the infiltrators. But that led them to know I was alive, because before he got killed, Hye Shik, the idiot, mentioned Min Sung as the informant. He was supposed to use a code name which only the system knew. So no doubt they'll be after me too. It seems that even though I've tried to keep you out of danger, you were meant to be part of it all along. I only just realised it after Jaebeom said something just before I came in here to see you, that really made me think about wh? Why you were placed in the danger I tried so hard to keep you from, and it didn't take me long to figure it out why they're trying to kill both of you and not just Jaebeom.”

Youngjae looked shocked."They're trying to kill me? What the hell.'"

"Your boss has always known about this whole thing with Jaebeom. I was trying to figure out for the past four years, who the actual head of the Anti-Guardians was. I thought at first it was just my brother, but with all the classified information he had, I knew it wasn't just him, he had to know someone in a position where they had access to all of that to know what he does. So when I kidnapped Jackson,"

Youngjae's eyes widened. "You kidnapped Jackson? What the hell?"

"What? My intentions were genuine, and I needed his help, I had my suspicions about your boss and I knew where the final piece of information would be once I had all the other pieces, but I couldn't get it myself. So I needed someone who could get access into the bosses office." 

Youngjae laughed. "So you kidnapped Jackson and made him go find the information you needed."

"Exactly. I knew my stupid brother was working hard in hand with the overall ringleader so when I put two and two together, your boss was the only one who didn't agree with the board about my death. However, he's figured out what role you play in the future and that is exactly why you're here right now."

"Well, that kind of sucks.  So now I've been set up?" Youngjae sounded frustrated rather than scared.

"Sadly, yes.” Sho Hyuk responded quietly.

“But still, that's no reason to keep your distance from me,” Youngjae said his voice echoing the annoyed looked on his face.'

Yes, it is,” Sho Hyuk began firmly. "Youngjae, listen, I love you so much! You have no idea, but because of what's happening right now and how important this all is, I don't have a place in your future, or you in mine."

Youngjae's face dropped as the shocked and upset look on his face broke Sho Hyuk's heart.

"But you said once we got back to the future we could start over. Why can't we? We can change history right, that's what we do, and for the better," Youngjae almost begged.

"This is something we can't change if we rewrite any part of this history that's about to unfold, we'll be doing exactly what the Anti-Guardians are trying to do." he paused then sighed and continued his voice deathly serious. "We'd be doing it for them."

Youngjae's face contorted the hurt and anger showing plainly and without prejudice on his face. "Why are you still being so selfish. Four years Min Sung, four years I was without you. How can you just waltz back into my life saying we can work on our relationship back in the future once this is all over, and now, you're telling me that we can't. Or is that you just don't want to because I moved on just a little and you can't stand the thought of me being with anyone else even if it is only temporary?'

"That was before I understood the reality of our situation! And of course I hate the idea of you being with anyone else, but that isn't the reason at all, because, in the end, it's you that can't, not me. I can't tell you all the details of why and how, but I can tell you this. You'll have crystal clear clarifications of the importance of your involvement in all of this very soon."

"What?” Youngjae snapped. “How can you do his too me again?  How can you leave me behind without a proper damn explanation!"

Tears filled Sho Hyuk's eyes and he smiled through them. "This time it's you who's leaving me behind and I have no choice but to accept it. Ironic huh?. I died to try and keep you safe, keep you away from all this, but it seems I've failed and I've just caused you so much more pain without meaning too. I love you so very much, but as fate would have it, we're just not destined to be. I really want it to be different, but it won't happen, at least not in this lifetime, not if you want to protect and save the Guardians and keep the earth alive. I'm so sorry, Youngjae. But you 'will' understand soon." He got up from bed without saying another word, wiped his eyes and portalled out.

Shocked, hurt and confused Youngjae clutched at his heart, trying to understand what he had done in his life, that was so wrong to cause him so much pain and anguish.

Finally, he couldn't hold the intense emotions back.

Curling up into a tight ball on the bed, he broke down into an inconsolable mess.


	52. Chapter 52

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this took so long to get posted I went over it three times. Because the plotline is so complicated in places occasionally I throw myself a curve ball and have to fix it lol!

Mark had finished the puzzle and was looking for another to do when Jaebeom's Guardian watch went off. 

Looking up at him, Mark watched as Jaebeom tried to figure out how to open it. 

"You have a Guardian watch?" Mark asked curiously as Jaebeom poked and tapped at it.

"Yeah, but this is the first time it's done that, and I have no idea how it works. I forgot to ask when I got it as and I haven't really had a chance to speak to Youngjae about it."

Mark held his hand out to Jaebeom. " Here, let me show you how it works." 

Jaebeom took it off and handed it to Mark watching carefully as Mark pointed to a button. "Okay to open it,  press this, then flick that. See the flashing blue square?" Mark asked 

Jaebeom nodded. "Yeah?" 

"That means you have a message waiting to be read," Mark informed him.

"Who the heck would be sending me a message?" Jaebeom said peering at it suspiciously. 

"Sho Hyuk, apparently," Jinyoung said walking up to Mark and pressing the square.

Jaebeom sighed and made an unimpressed face. "Now what the hell does he want. I already told Youngjae he can go back to him. What more does he want from me?"

"Well this isn't good," Jinyoung said looking back up at Jaebeom. "I've just left. Take care of him for me, you two need each other in the future more than you both realise.  
And get rid of the watch they've been tracking you with it. "

”Open a portal to where he is. NOW,” Jaebeom demanded 

Mark and Jinyoung exchanged serious looks and Mark seeing the angry look on Jaebeom's face quickly complied and Jaebeom disappeared through the portal. Mark had opened with his own watch. 

“We're gonna get it for doing that you know?” Jinyoung sighed.

“Just get rid of this first and worry about our asses later.” Mark sighed as he threw Jaebeom's watch to Jinyoung to sort out.

“I'd hate to be Sho right now. Jaebeom's livid,” Jinyoung said as he sat down next to Mark and began to remove the tracking device from the watch.

“Yeah, I've never seen him this mad.” Mark sighed too. “So, should one of us go check on Youngjae?”

“Might be better to find and hide all the alcohol first. You know what Jackson said about him when he's this tormented about stuff in his heart and mind.”

“Yeah good idea,” Mark agreed to get up. Let's do that first!”

~*~

Jackson saw the portal appear and swiftly moved out of the way as one angry Im Jaebeom came flying out of straight over to a solemn-looking Sho Hyuk and grabbing him from behind.

Sho Hyuk turned and barely blocked the punch that Jaebeom threw at him.

“Why? Why are you running away again” Enough is enough? He's confused as to what he really wants as it is. But you just gave up on him. How the hell could you do that after what you both went through for the past four years?” Jaebeom grabbed him by the collar and shook him. “You said you still loved him!!”

Sho Hyuk grabbed Jaebeom's arms forcing them away from his collar. “And I do. I really fucking do! But you have no idea, do you? No idea at all? Why the hell do you think I have to walk away. I don't want to, but this time, in the end, it isn't my choice. It's Youngjae's. His decision saves all of us.”

“Bullshit!” Jaebeom growled pushing Sho Hyuk to the floor. “You're just a damn coward. How can you say you love him if you won't even try and fight for him!?”

Jackson came up from behind and grabbed Jaebeom before he could go for Sho Hyuk again, pulling his arms behind his back “Stop it Jaebeom,” Jackson ordered. “He 's telling the truth. Just listen to what he has to say, please!” Jackson pleaded with the raging man in his hold.

Jackson waited until he felt Jaebeom was calm enough to listen to what had to be said and loosened his hold.

Jaebeom pulled himself away and stood, his fists clenched. “Fine. I'll listen but make it good!”

Sho Hyuk sighed and stood. “Youngjae will come back to the past. I don't know where or when, but it will be to help you work on the technology you create.”

“W, what?” Jaebeom spluttered.

“When you mentioned back there that the boss sent Youngjae here to the past to be your Guardian and then mentioned how fast you create the technology when you lack the immediate skills you need to continue your father's work. It all suddenly made sense why Youngjae was sent here at this time. He should never have been sent to you, at least not yet or as your Guardian."

"I don't get it?" Jaebeom said frustrated.

Youngjae was sent here on purpose. The boss doesn't just want you dead, he wants Youngjae dead too. It's why they went after him.”

“Why Youngjae what did he ever do?” Jaebeom said his face paling a little.

“It's not what he's done,” Sho Hyuk began solemnly, “it's what he's going to help you do later on.”

“And what's that?”

“Helps you to oversee the construction of the technology and teach you the skills you need to get things moving.” 

“How can he teach me the skills I use to make the technology he uses?”

“It's a long story. So when I came back here after leaving before, I headed straight to my supercomputer hacking program, took a punt on what I needed to know and everything I had hoped that would and wouldn't come up, from both the Guardianship and the System did just that.” Sho Hyuk sighed.

“When your father first heard the family was out to kill him, he hid the original plans for the work he was doing, including a lot of the newer plans he had made. No one could find them anywhere. Before he died he had already created a prototype portal device. The first one was a failure it would open a portal, but there would be no exit. Just a hollow space nothing else. It was believed that he'd hidden everything in that space in the original prototype, then hid the prototype too. But no one has ever been able to find it. The technology you create is in those newer plans he hid with the originals he had the company begin work on,” Sho Hyuk took a deep breath in and sighed it out.

“Does anyone know what it looked like?” Jaebeom asked curiously

“The prototype?”

“Yeah, do we have any clues at all?" Jaebeom folded his arms and leaned back on the table behind him.

Sho Hyuk thought back to what he read some more. “Rumours have it that it was probably something plain and simple nothing fancy. Probably hidden in plain sight. Something that meant something to him and him alone. He was a very cryptic man your father.”

“Yeah that's for sure,” Jaebeom had to agree. “So going back to the Guardian thing for a minute. You said Youngjae should have never been sent here as my Guardian. Who should have then?”

“Anyone could have been your Guardian,” Sho Hyuk shrugged. “It didn't have to be Youngjae. The boss made it look like they had no one else to send to you, but there would have been plenty of Guardians. The fact that he already knew who you were says everything. He shouldn't have even known, but Jackson told me the boss told him, that's how he knew.”

“But wouldn't all the Guardians know who I was since I created both the System and the Guardians?” Jaebeom sounded a little confused

“No. Not everyone. Only the System heads and the Guardianship Board are supposed to know that. It was something you put into place yourself. It was a safety measure so something like this would never happen. But when the Anti-Guardians infiltrated the Guardianship, they had access to all of your family's files, I'm guessing that's when this whole mess began 30 years ago, and now their pissed, because the company is still working on the basic stuff your dad had them start, and because you're still alive.” Sho Hyuk sighed out through his nose and folded his arms. 

Jaebeom at the time did the same quite by accident and they both stared at each other, then laughed, breaking the ice a little. 

“So obviously the prototype is found, the plans are retrieved and then Youngjae ends up here helping me," Jaebeom reiterated

“Exactly,” Sho Hyuk nodded.

"Doesn't mean we end up together though," Jaebeom said trying to reassure Sho Hyuk. 

Sho Hyuk smiled a little. "We'll see," he replied and then turned to face Jackson sitting on the table arms and legs folded. “Jackson, you're really quiet. Are you okay?” SHo Hyuk asked him. He'd been sitting there silent the whole time.

“Don't mind me," Jackson said calmly. "I'm plotting a way to kick the bosses ass myself! That bastard, putting Youngjae through all this!”

“Excuse you,” Sho Hyuk gave him a flick on the ear. “We've all been through hell and back.”

“You don't count.” Jackson said snubbing Sho Hyuk, causing Jaebeom to snicker.“And neither do you!” he added quickly. “You both aren't in my good books. The way you've both behaved in regards to Youngjae is appalling. You're pulling his heart in half the both of you! You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

“He still has a thing for Youngjae, doesn't he?” Sho Hyuk asked Jaebeom quite calmly.

“Yeah, he does,” Jaebeom replied nodding.

“Anyway,” Jackson continued, “We need to get back to work. Think about where the damn prototype would be in the meantime," he ordered Jaebeom as he opened a portal back to the other place and shoved the other man back through. “Contact us again when it's urgent otherwise we'll come to you! And tell Mark and Jinyoung I'll be having a word or two with them later!”

“Don't tell Youngjae any of this. Please, he has to make the decisions on his own..” Sho Hyuk begged as the portal began to close.

Jaebeom sighed as he came back through on the other side. He'd really hoped things would get less complicated the closer this whole thing got to the end.

It seemed, however, that definitely wasn't the case.


	53. Chapter 53

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but it's finally here <3

Jaebeom walked out of the portal and Mark handed the Guardian watch back to him.

“It’s fixed we removed their tracking device and replaced it with an encoded one that we can track. I’ve sent the reconfiguration of it to those in our party. That way we can still track you.”

“Yeah, thanks, but too late now, though they would already know where we are. I guess it’s inevitable. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I’m going to check on Youngjae,” Jaebeom said sighing.

“By the way, Jackson gave us a heads up, we hid your alcohol,” Mark said with a nod in Youngjae’s general direction. “Just in case.”

Jaebeom nodded. “Thanks. I don’t want him near that stuff when he’s like this.”

Mark smiled. “We checked in on him, he’s a bit of a mess. Anyway, despite everything that’s happened I hope you’ll still consider us your friends. I’m sorry I never told you we knew about you, but We couldn’t. We wanted to many times, but,”

Jaebeom placed a hand over Mark’s shoulder and smiled at him, glancing over to Jinyoung as he spoke. “Nothing will change guys and once this is over if you guys are still stationed here, we’re gonna hang out more often. The three of us.” He gave them a small hopeful smile, and if I’m lucky, by some small chance, maybe it’ll be the four of us.”

Mark placed his hand over Jaebeom’s, Jinyoung walked up to them and did the same.

“Team MarkJin is cheering for you,” Jinyoung said with a genuine sincerity that touched Jaebeom’s heart.

“Team Markjin?”

“Yugyeom!” The two of them answered quickly and simultaneously.

“I see,” Jaebeom laughed a little. “Strange kid that one. Super cute and intelligent, but strange.”

“That’s our Gyeommie, for you,” Mark grinned. “Anyway we’re holding you up, you should go to him. He needs your support right now.”

“Thanks, for watching over him while I was gone,” Jaebeom said gratefully. “ I’ll spend some time with him and then fill you in with what happened over there a little later.”

“Sure, no problem. We’re going to do another boundary check anyway. It’s getting late, so this will the last one for the night. We’ll see you when we get back.” Mark said as they followed him out of the lounge.

Jaebeom stopped at the bedroom door. “Yeah. Talk to you then.” He said, watching Mark and Jinyoung head out, then he opened the door, walked into the bedroom and shut it behind him.

He walked straight over to the bed and could see that Youngjae was still quite visibly upset.

Saying nothing Jaebeom, crawled into the bed with him, taking him in his arms and just holding him.

Youngjae shuddered under the weight of his emotions, but he looked into Jaebeom’s eyes.

There was no anger, no resentment, no judgement, or hatred, only love and concern.

“Why are you still even bothering with me. I’m such an idiot. I,” He sniffled as he was silenced, by a finger to his lips.

Once Jaebeom knew he’d gotten the hint, he began gently stroking Youngjae’s hair. “Before my parents died, whenever I was in trouble with them, I’d be as sad and as hurt as hell, but my mother used to say, ‘Hurting inside is part of life, part of growing up and sometimes the reason we’re hurting might seem unfair, especially when that reason is because of someone you love and care about.’”

Jaebeom smiled at him while speaking. “Then she’d hold me like this, stroke my hair and say, ‘It’s Important to think about and to try and understand, why that person did what they did and that usually it’s because they love you so much, that they want to protect you from the unavoidable bigger hurt you would have gone through had you continued following the path you were on.’ “

Jaebeom sighed a little sadly as he continued. “My mother was a very understanding woman, my father, hardworking and honest. I knew that both of them loved me a lot. I was only five years old when they died, so my whole world was shattered. It hurt so much that the pain of it was beyond anything my five-year-old heart had ever felt. I didn’t have any friends at the time, and I had no idea any of what was going on with the family then.”

Jaebeom continued stroking Youngjae’s hair as he relayed his story. “My grandparents brought me back to this place after my parents died, to hide me, protect me just like my parents before them, and they became my family, until they packed me off to another country to study, right before they were killed. But the one thing that no one could help me understand back when I was five, was how the hurt because my parents had ‘gone to help the angels with important work in heaven’, could fit in with my mother’s explanation. All a five year old me could keep asking was, why were the angels more important than me?”

Youngjae had calmed down while listening to Jaebeom’s story, the stroking of his hair had helped him relax a little. “I’m sorry that your life has been so full of hurt and heartache. I’m so sorry I’m adding to it now,” Youngjae apologised gently reaching up and touching Jaebeom’s cheek.

“Don’t be. You let me know right from the start this relationship would end once you went back. It’s not your fault that I allowed myself to, fall I love with you in such a short amount of time. I’m hurting because I refused to listen to reason, but I’m not going to stop loving you. Right now, for both you and I, what my mother told me back then makes complete sense. You tried to push me away at first because you knew that it would hurt, but that it would hurt more after you’d gone back. Of course, I knew I’d be hurt too, but you must have loved me enough to not want that to happen and to me, that’s all that matters.”

Jaebeom placed his hand over Youngjae’s still on his cheek. “As for you and Min Sung, it’s the same but reversed, he ‘died’ to try and protect you, not just to solve this ridiculous farce. You need to look at how he’d be feeling right now too,” Jaebeom said as he gently caressed Youngjae’s hand with his thumb.

“Sometimes in life, there are things beyond our control that prevent us from having what we really want and both Min Sung and I understand that all too well right now. We both love you, and both want you to be with us, but there’s something in the way, out of our control, stopping that from happening. So don’t be too hard on him either, like you tried to protect me, he’s just trying to protect you again too.”

Youngjae sighed wistfully. “I really am so confused right now, I really feel that I want Min Sung back, but I also don’t want to lose you either. I promised you something even though it’s temporary, but I feel like I’ve let you down because of all this. In all my twenty-three years of life, I have never felt this lost or helpless before. Some Guardian I am.”

“This has nothing to do with you being a Guardian, this is about you being a human being, with normal emotions that smack you down every now and again. Something you seem to forget while worrying about being a Guardian.” Jaebeom tapped him playfully on the nose.

Youngjae gave him a small smile. “If there’s one thing I’m definitely sure about, it’s that I’m so glad I got to meet you.”

He yawned and Jaebeom smiled and kissed him on the forehead. “How about we get some sleep. And let me be your Guardian, just for tonight.”

Youngjae smiled as Jaebeom got up and undressed for bed. “I think I’d really like that.”

Jaebeom crawled back into the bed with him and they snuggled up together, falling asleep in each other’s arms.

~*~

Mark and Jinyoung finished the boundary check. Everything was still in place and they headed back towards the house.

Mark’s watch went off and he quickly read the message and then turned to Jinyoung. “Twenty four hours until they get here. That’s sooner than we thought. Sho Hyuk, wants us to stay and fight. He said we can let Jaebeom and Youngjae run again, but this won’t end unless we bring them down. As Yugyeom suspected, Jaebeom’s uncle betrayed the rest of the family. Everyone involved in this for the past thirty years, here in the past have been rounded up and taken into custody, except the ones on the way to us,” Mark relayed back the information to Jinyoung.

“Yes! About time. I’m happy for Jaebeom, this has gone on for too long. What else did he say?” Jinyoung asked him.

“The System has begun their next move too. Thanks to the information Jackson got for Sho Hyuk, they have a list of all the names of the Anti-Guardians, the location of their HQ and have just arrested the rest of the board members on the Guardianship that were funding them and he’s just been sent an extra team of men from the system. They’ll be here first thing in the morning.”

Jinyoung nodded his approval. “Nice! Everything going to plan, we’ll wipe the floor with these bastards. Then Jaebeom’s completely free from all this shit.”

“Yeah, that would definitely make him happy. Come on let’s get back in.” Mark said as they headed up the steps to the front door. “I’ll take first watch you get some sleep.” He opened the door and let Jinyoung in first.

Hopefully, this whole mess would soon be finally over.


	54. Chapter 54

Jaebeom awoke a few hours later to the coolness of the air and the feeling of heaviness on his chest. He opened one eye switched on the bedside lamp and looked forward smiled at the sight.

Youngjae had some how managed to turn himself around in his sleep. The blankets had been pushed away and the younger man was on his side. His feet were facing the wall and his head was on Jaebeom’s chest, using it as a pillow.

Jaebeom lay there watching him sleep and sighed contentedly. He’d come to the realisation that the young man before him was a lot more vulnerable than he acted. He had gone from the tough and playful, to the scared and unsure and it made Jaebeom want to protect him instead.

Maybe he really was Youngjae’s ‘Guardian’.

Jaebeom found himself grinning at the thought as Youngjae stirred, his eyes opening slowly to meet Jaebeom’s and he gave the older man a puzzled look.

“I did something weird in my sleep, didn’t I? He asked as he sat himself upright.

“If you consider sleeping sideways and using me as your pillow weird, then yes,” Jaebeom grinned at him.

“Wow, I must have been pretty restless,” Youngjae said, completely surprised as he saw the position he’d been lying in.

“You’ve been through a lot lately, so it’s to be expected,” Jaebeom said as he sat himself upright too checking the time in his watch. “Damn it’s only 1am.”

“I’m so sorry hyung, I dragged all the blankets off you, you must be cold,” Youngjae apologised as he crawled back up into the bed properly, pulling the blankets back up and tucking Jaebeom snugly back under with him and resting his head against his shoulder.

Jaebeom shrugged. “It’s okay, don’t stress over it.”

“Hyung?”

“Yes, Youngjae?”

“I’ve made up my mind,” Youngjae began, “until I go back, I want to be with you, If you’ll still have me until then,” he added quickly.

Jaebeom rolled over to face him pulling him closer and surprising the younger man with a firm kiss to his lips. “Even if it we’re for just one day I’d be happy just to be by your side.”

“You’re really are a great guy, hyung,” Youngjae said sincerely.

“I know,” Jaebeom said looking at him smugly as he reached up and turned off the lamp.

Youngjae laughed as he rested his arm across Jaebeom’s bare chest , “And I’ll try not to rearrange everything in my sleep this time.”

“It was cute. I really didn’t mind,” Jaebeom pressed a kiss to the top of Youngjae’s head. “I just hope you’ll sleep better this time.”

“Yeah, me too hyung. me too!”

~*~

Jackson popped his head around the corner of the nearest bedroom. He had rigged another boundary alarm up at the safe house and both he and Bambam had in the end had forced Min Sung to go and rest.

He could tell the run in with Jaebeom had affected him a little and  
It had taken almost half an hour of he and Bambam to convince the stubborn mule he had to get some rest, before Jackson dragged him by the collar and into the bedroom, Min Sung protesting vehemently all the way there.

Jackson had figured that Min Sung had wanted to stay busy in order to keep his mind off the whole situation with Youngjae and on the Job, but he was no good to them exhausted and unfocused.

Jackson and Bambam had gone for their rest break as soon as they had got there. Min Sung and Yugyeom had their system to set up at the safe house and since only those two knew how to set it all up, Min Sung had suggested to the other two, to make the most of it and take theirs first.

Yugyeom, on the other hand, had no qualms in taking a break once it was their turn. He had wandered off much earlier than Min Sung and was snoring away in the next room already.

Jackson quietly shut their bedroom doors and headed back into the main area to keep an eye on the surveillance equipment and incoming information from the system.

Bambam was look intently at the screen making sure that everything was all clear at the other place. They had set up cameras around the perimeters and on the house itself.

“Have you seen the new calibrations Mark sent over for the watches?“ Bambam asked as Jackson walked back into the room.

“Yeah. I’ve already incorporated mine,” Jackson Informed him, “You?”

“Yeah, just finished,” Bambam said holding his up. “The other two will need to do theirs once they get up.”

“How’s everything looking over there?” Jackson asked as he peered over Bambam’s shoulder at the screens, looking at each one carefully.

“All quiet, nothing out of the ordinary,” Bambam reported peering at the screen.

“Good that’s exactly what I want to hear,” Jackson said patting his colleague on the back.

“Wait...” Bambam stopped Jackson from leaving, pulling his attention back to one of the screens. “Look.”

Jackson hastily moved back and took a look at the footage.

“What the fuck? Get a hold of Mark and Jinyoung,” Jackson said rushing off

Shit was about to go down.


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to have this chapter up earlier, but I have an event coming up so I was preparing for that and then my daughter had a car accident that almost took her life last weekend. She is extremely lucky to be alive right now as it was her side that got hit and I am so grateful that the universe saw fit to not take her from us. She was in ICU (intensive care unit) for two days and is recovering very slowly, she has broken ribs and pelvis and had to have her spleen removed due to the fact it was split in half and could have killed her as well because it was causing a lot of internal bleeding. I am doing okay, but wanted to let you know why this last chapter was slower than I had hoped for and I know you all are wonderful and understand that my life can be a bit crazy, but I might be even more sporadic for a few more weeks until she has recovered more. We'll see though, as the writing helps me focus so that I don't break down.
> 
> In the mean time a short chapter for you all <3
> 
> Lots of love 
> 
> Youngjaeswife <3

Jackson ran into Yugyeom’s room first shaking the young man into wakefulness, then charged into Sho Hyuk’s almost dragging him out of the bed half asleep. “What the hell Jackson?” He protested at being woken so abruptly.

“Your calculations were wrong. The hicks got here already,” Jackson said as they headed back to Bambam.

“The hell how could I have been wrong?” Sho Hyuk scratched his head. “I’m never wrong.

“Not the first time,” Yugyeom replied, finally emerging from the room.

“You,” Sho Yuk said pointing at him, “hush.”

Yugyeom made a zipping motion across his lips and smirked as he stood behind Bambam, looking over his shoulder, while the other two checked the other screens behind them.

“How could they get this close without a teleport?” Sho Hyuk asked himself specifically, as he checked over his calculations in his head and then back at the screen scrutinising every calculation. “We have less than an hour! FUCK!”

Jackson watched as Sho Hyuk hurriedly opened his watch and sent a message.

“I already messaged Mark,” Bambam informed him. 

“I'm messaging the System. Send him another message. Tell him to stand by to receive System agents early. There wasn't just the six of them, there's more than we thought, those two weren't in the equation originally, plus the six man team they'll send from the anti-guardians. They must have used signal blockers on the others damn it. I should have seen that coming, but I didn't!” Yugyeom, Bam, stay here and keep us informed of where they are. Jackson, let's go!”

Jackson opened a portal and they were gone.”

~*~

Mark was making himself a drink in the kitchen when the first message came through he abandoned the drink and ran and woke Jinyoung first and then Jaebeom and Youngjae.

They were all dressed and in the lounge when the second message came through, and Jaebeom looked a little worried at hearing the news about what little time time they had left before things got nasty.

“We can always get in the car and get out of here,” Jaebeom suggested, There's room for everyone of us in there.”

“Running isn't an option anymore Jaebeom,” Sho Hyuk said as he and Jackson came through the portal. “Even if your family are out of the way, The anti Guardians will continue to chase you down unless we stop this today!”

Jaebeom sighed and glanced at Youngjae.

“Min Sung is right, hyung,” Youngjae agreed. “They'll just keep chasing us until either we, or they are dead.”

Sho Hyuk nodded. “We'll keep you and Youngjae out of the firing line. When the System's men arrive we're sending both of you into the forest with two of my agents. It's dense out there and they'll find it hard to track you down without the tracking device in your watch that Mark re-calibrated for us. That way we can track you, not them. They would have already figured something is wrong since they can't track you any more”

Jaebeom nodded. “ I feel I should stay and help, as afraid as I am, this is my fight too.”

“No!” Youngjae said abruptly. “We'll go with Min Sung's plan. The forest is the best option. It's dark out and we'll have the advantage because of your knowledge of the area.”

Jaebeom sighed. “I suppose your right.”

Jackson pulled a bag out from behind him. “These are thermal pullovers. They aren't pretty, but they're warm and it's damn freezing out there. Everyone needs to wear one when out there. I don't want anyone to die of hypothermia, that may sound a bit over excessive but I don't have time to drag around passed out bodies They're also dark and perfect for camouflage. Any questions?”

No one had any and the thermal pullovers were put on without complaint.

“The System agents will be here soon. Also here,” Sho Hyuk handed Jaebeom and Youngjae a gun each, “ Mark, Jinyoung, show them how they work.”

“I can't use this,” Youngjae said worriedly, “Guardians can't use weapons or force.”

“Unless authorised by a superior authority from the System," Sho Hyuk countered. "I am giving you that authority. Jaebeom I can see you would rather not have one either, so let me put it this way. If you run into one of them they will kill you. So you have a choice. shoot or die. If you die we all disappear from out of your life; everyone, including Youngjae.” He looked at him seriously. “The choice is yours.”

Jaebeom sighed and looked over at Youngjae. “Alright I'll take it. I promised people we'd stay together if it's possible. I'm not backing down now, those friendships are too important too me.” He smiled at Mark and Jinyoung

Mark squeezed his arm and smiled at him. “We all have have your back, Jaebeom!”

“And I'm your Guardian,” Youngjae grinned. “I know I haven't been much of one lately, but you watch. I'll show these ass holes who's boss!”

Jaebeom nodded and he and Youngjae followed the other two out of the lounge and into the yard.

Sho Hyuk sighed and threw a nod to Jackson as he headed off after them. “Check in with those two and see how things are.”

“On it.” Jackson replied as he opened his watch,

~*~

Mark and Jinyoung gave Jaebeom and Youngjae a crash course in using System firearms. Youngjae was a little quicker than Jaebeom at picking it up, but it wasn’t too much longer before he finally had it figured out too.

Jaebeom was surprised to find out they were more of a stun gun than a weapon of death. Mark had informed him that taking lives was something the system tried to avoid at all costs no matter who the enemy were. 

Once Mark and Jinyoung we’re satisfied that the two of them had the use of the weapon under control, they fixed them up with the holsters for the guns. 

“I feel so uncomfortable wearing this,” Jaebeom said as Mark finished putting it on for him. 

“Just bare with it until, this is all over,” Mark said as he gave Jaebeom a reassuring pat on the back. “We have about forty minutes before they get here and we just don’t know if the others are right around the corner.” 

Youngjae could tell by the look on Jaebeom's face that he wasn't happy with the whole arrangement, but even he knew that they had no choice. 

With so much at stake, they couldn't afford to be lapse.

It was far better to be safe than sorry, .


	56. Chapter 56

Once everyone had arrived at Jaebeom’s family hideaway. Sho Hyuk gave everyone the run down and with less than half an hour to go until things went crazy the tension was high. Everyone was given their orders that they were to keep in hiding until they could make a move effectively enough to stop the bad guys, these were the last of Jaebeom's family and needed to be taken down as quickly as possible and preferably before the other guardians arrived.

Yugyeom and Bambam were to remain at the Guardian safe house until the other anti-guardians arrival was imminent. Then they were to come straight over once they knew exactly when they would be here.

Jaebeom and Youngjae would be heading into the Forrest with the two soldiers from the Systems forces very soon and waiting until the all clear was called.

Sho Hyuk left the house and walked up to Jaebeom, leaning with him on the side of his car. “You okay?” He asked sincerely.

Jaebeom took a deep breath in letting it out deeply. “Not too sure, never stopped running long enough to worry about it before.”

“Everything ends here, Jaebeom. It’s now or never and the best place for the both of you to be, is together in the forest and away from the firing line. I’m so sorry I couldn’t get this finished without all this happening, but soon it will be all over. “

“Look, Sho, I just wanted to say thank you. I know Youngjae means the world to you and you’ve let him make his own mind up about us until he heads back with you, that’s got to be hard?”

“Of course it is, but he needs to be with you right through to the end.” Sho Hyuk told him.

“You can’t be 100% sure he’s going to choose me. Like I said before just because he comes back to help me doesn’t mean he’ll stay. Of course I want him to be with me too, but I don’t see how it can be feasible to be honest.”

Sho Hyuk gave a brief chuckle. “Life and circumstances change. All I can say is that something does happen today. I’m not supposed to say what happens, but I can say that Youngjae’s true feelings come to the fore then. So we’ll see, but no matter what happens whoever ends up with him, let’s just make sure he’s happy.”

Jaebeom nodded. “Agreed. We both love him, so we should be happy for him too, no matter what.”

“I like you Jaebeom, you pulled him out of a pretty big downward spiral. I hate the fact it was all my fault. He never deserved any of what happened because of me.”

“Well because of you, we’re about to finish all this. Something I never thought would happen. I’ll have closure regarding my parents, and now all I need to do after all this is find that damn prototype and get things started. I owe you so much.”

“You owe me nothing, you looked out for Youngjae the past couple of weeks, that’s more than enough.” Sho Hyuk held out his hand.

Jaebeom looked at it, then smiled and took it. “Here’s to friendships, no matter how far apart!”

The brief handshake was interrupted by a low pitched signal and Jackson’s voice came through their watches.” They’ve breached the boundary get those two out of here now.

Within seconds the two soldiers and Youngjae ran from the house and were racing towards Jaebeom.

“Go, we’ll meet up later.” Sho Hyuk said running off towards the house

Jaebeom nodded as the the others ran up to him.

Youngjae grabbed Sho Hyuk by the hand. “Be careful,” he said softly.

“You too,” Sho Hyuk replied, gently placing his hand over Youngjae’s briefly before the two of them went their separate ways.

Youngjae ran to catch up the soldiers waiting with Jaebeom as he caught back up to him.

“Ready?” Youngjae asked.

Jaebeom nodded. “I really hope this works.”

“Sho H yuk's got this,” Youngjae smiled, “You’ll see.”

Jaebeom couldn’t help but smile back. “I’ll be happy just to be free from all this.”

“Freedom is a good thing,” Youngjae said, a large smile on his face as they ran towards the forest, the two soldiers either side of them.

Despite the impending danger, Jaebeom had to smile.

Youngjae was right.

Freedom would be a pretty damn good thing.

~*~

Mark and Jinyoung stationed themselves in the lounge room. Sho Hyuk and Jackson in Jaebeom and Youngjae’s room, two System soldiers were in Mark and Jinyoung’s room and there were two more in the kitchen.

All of them were invisible, ready to make a move. The family would think that Jaebeom and Youngjae were alone, so no doubt they’d come into that room first being the closest.

As the first car pulled up down by the inside of the boundary, the men waited for the second car and then slowly got out together.

“Take the house, we’ll go scout the area. They should be asleep, but boss said to be careful. They might already know we’re coming,” One of the lead men whispered. “Boss said they lost the tracking signal on JB, so be prepared for anything. Those System guys are pretty astute.”

“Got it. We’ll be careful!” One of the others said as they headed up to the house cautiously.

Inside the house the others remained silent as the front door was quietly tested to see if it was unlocked, but Sho Hyuk had locked it intentionally once he had gone back inside.

There was no way he would make anything easy for these bastards.

Seconds later the windows were gently rattled. Sho Hyuk and Jackson could see the silhouettes through the drawn curtains. Jackson had locked them all previously, on Sho H yuk's orders.

Sho Hyuk stood by the bedside table, flat against he wall. Even though he couldn’t see Jackson, he knew exactly where he was in the scheme of things and Jackson would back him up if it came to it.

A few seconds later the silhouettes disappeared.

Silently, Sho Hyuk and the others waited until Jaebeom's family made their next move.


	57. Chapter 57

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my daughter is finally out of hospital and in fairly good spirits. <3 She has a long recovery road ahead of her and will need rehab in order to be able to walk properly again after he pelvis heals itself from the breaks, but other than that she's alive and well. Just wanted to update you all.

Mark heard the door being fiddled around with.

From his position, he was closest to the hallway and as the door finally clicked and opened, they held their positions and waited with baited breath.

The first of the intruders snuck around the door quietly headed through the house. The first two out of the four went straight for the for the first bedroom door, quietly opening it and peeking inside.

The taller of the two nodded towards the bed and in the semi darkness as they made their way over too it and stood looking at each other, before one of them drew a gun and pointed it and fired two shots.

The gun barely made a sound, Sho Hyuk could see the silencer and as the other man moved closer, he grinned and made his move smacking the first one hard on the backside as his accomplice went past to check the bed.

“What the hell, you weirdo?” The man who’d made the shots spat out in a whisper hitting his accomplice across the back of the head.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” The second one spat back.

“Don’t touch my ass!”

“What the fuck I never touched your ass!”

Jackson, realising what Sho Hyuk had done, had to hold back a laugh. But not to be outdone he stepped on the other man’s foot hard.

“Ow, you fucking idiot, what the fuck is wrong with you. I never touched your fucking ass, so no need to fucking attack me.”

“I never touched you either you idiot, what the hell is your problem.”

“Just shut the hell up and let’s check to see if It’s JB or that Youngjae guy we just killed.”

As they went to check they heard a muffled Yelp from next door and one of the other men came running in yelling. “We’ve been set up, it’s a trap.”

The two men quickly pulled back the covers of their bed to see nothing but a mass of pillows where a body should have been and they looked at each other just as the other man that had came to warn them was pulled back and then suddenly thrown into the room by an unseen force.

The panic hit the two of them and they went to run but they were both grabbed from behind. One of them broke free and managed to get out of the door Mark gave chase, two of the System men following behind. They’re trackers set on Mark so they could follow without having to be visible.

Inside Jaebeom’s and Youngjae’s room in the house there were a number of quick flashes and finally there were three unconscious men on the floor.

“Nice work guys Sho Hyuk said as he and the others became visible. Jackson, Sho Hyuk and Jinyoung made sure the intruders were out of commission, binding their feet and hands behind their backs, rendering them completely immobile, just in case they came to, quicker than planned.

“That’s one lot down,” Sho Hyuk said relieved, opening a portal. “You two take these men to the holding cells back at the Guardian safe house. Lock them down and get back here ASAP. Tell Yugi and Bam to expect more soon.” He turned to Jinyoung and Jackson. “You two, you’re with me!”

Jackson and Jinyoung followed after Sho Hyuk as he flew out of the front door all of them going invisible again to be on the safe side.

Jinyoung ran after Marks tracking signal, while Jackson and Sho Hyuk both stopped by Jaebeom’s car as the boundary alarm went off again.

“Shit, the next lot are here already,” Sho said as he quickly sent a message to Mark and Jinyoung. Within seconds Jinyoung had replied saying they had apprehended the escapee and that Mark had taken him through a portal back to the Guardian safe house to lock them up to lock them up, relaying that they would be back as soon as they could.

Sho Hyuk headed straight over to where his tracker said Jinyoung was situated, Jackson followed close behind.

seconds later he could see Mark and the two System soldiers back on his watch as red dots and he glanced over to the house. The front door hadn’t opened, so he assumed they had been smart and exited if the back door.

It wasn’t long before they were back with them and once more, hiding in plain sight, they spread out and waited and it wasn’t long before the other car came to a stop behind the last car and another four people got out.

Sho Hyuk noticed the look on their faces.

“They should have done the job by now,” one of the other men said impatiently. “I mean how, how hard is it to kill someone in the dark of night with no one around?”

Another one sighed, frustrated. “I can’t get a hold of them!”

“Of course you can’t you idiot.” The first one said the annoyance of having to deal with his stupidity. “Their phones would be off. Very stupid to leave them on when killing people right?”

“Oh yeah, of course sorry. Didn’t think,” The second man said in reply

“That’s your problem, you never do,” the first one huffed. “Come on two of you head in there and see what’s happening. You,” he pointed at his annoying accomplice, “go with him.”

“Why don’t you go with them?!” The second man snapped quietly back.

“And why do we have to go in, why don’t you go in?” A third man asked not impressed with the first man throwing around the orders.

“Because, you idiots, I’m the one that was told to meet ‘him’ here. Gave the order himself, so stop whining and get to it!” The first man sighed impatiently.

Mumbling under their breath the other three cautiously headed towards the house.

Sho Hyuk pressed a button on his watch and four of the System soldiers started following the other three towards the house.

The first man took out a phone and watched as the three of them entered before looking away and making a call

Jackson noted he was using the same phone as they did at the Guardianship and If he’d noticed so had the others.  
“Yeah, boss sorry we got here ahead of time. Yeah that portal thing is awesome.” The man cocked his head, thinking. “No I don’t even know what Min Sung looks like. But no one else is here yet but as, why would here come here if he was supposed to be meeting you. Badlands? What the hell are they?” There was a brief pause as he listened. 

“Right, got it. Well you can keep your badlands, sounds like shit to me. He’s probably lost out there, if they’re as bad as you say. No, no sign of any one else, if this Min Sung of yours does turn up, I’ll let you know. No idea the others messaged and said they got here and their car is here, but no one came out to meet us. Burying the bodies, maybe. I guess I’ll find out when the others get back. You still coming then, even if we have finished? I’m out by the car waiting like you requested. Okay, yeah, see you soon then. Thanks boss,”

He hung up his phone and put it away. A few minutes later, he glanced over to the house and made an unimpressed face. “What the hell’s taking them so long?”

Torn between heading to the house and staying where he was instructed, he sent a message and waited.

Sho Hyuk sent messages to the others. Mark Jinyoung and Jackson were told to wait before making the move to catch this fellow, he wanted to wait until the other three of Jaebeom’s family had been secured and take back to the safe house to be locked up first.

He could see where all of his team were on his watch. Eight tiny dots spotted around the place. Four together in one spot into the forest area and he and the other three not far from each other at this point in time.

Suddenly the man by the car made a very confused sound. “What the hell? Why aren’t you working?”

Sho Hyuk knew he was wearing a tracking watch, and had finally noticed no one was showing up on it, which meant the last three had been successfully apprehended, so now, It was time to take this guy down.

He had barely sent the Mark and the other two a message when the others sent a message informing them that they were on the way back with reinforcements. Sho told them to teleport into the house first. He wanted no one suddenly popping out into the open.

If his brother and Han Seok turned up right now and realised what was going on, they wouldn’t hesitate to take everyone down as they came out of the portal and Sho Hyuk wasn’t about to let that happen.

He messaged Mark, Jinyoung and Jackson to head out towards Youngjae and Jaebeom. He and the other system soldiers would take care of this guy and the rest of the mob when they arrived.

In the mean time Sho Hyuk sent a message to the other four in hiding, letting them know of the plans, that as soon as the other three got there the other soldiers were to come back to where he was and wait.

Once Sho had received the confirmation that the other soldiers were on their way back, he made his move, Jaebeom’s relative not knowing what hit him as he slumped in Sho’s invisible arms and he too was taken back to HQ.

Sho was relieved, that was the last of the civilian’s rounded up and out of any other danger that might befall them.

Now all that was left was the final problem.

The Anti Guardians.

Sho Hyuk knew they were on a whole different level than Jaebeom’s family and he sent one more message to everyone. This would be the last one before these guys arrived.

Looking up to the sky and sighing loudly, he just hoped this plan would work.


	58. Chapter 58

Mark and Jinyoung reached the others in no time swapping out with the System soldiers.

“Anyway, can we go somewhere not in the cold?” Jaebeom asked trying to keep his hands warm in his pockets. 

“Sorry, Jaebeom, no can do.” Mark replied. “Not until this is over and done with. We need to stay here and, oh shit, Jaebeom, your watch, it must be damaged, you’re starting to come through as visible again.”

“Oh great,” Jaebeom sighed, unimpressed as his hands began to show first.

“Oh no,” Youngjae panicked. “What do we do?” 

“I’ll message Sho, he’ll know.” Mark said frantically sending him one.

“Wait a second, it’s not just him,” Jinyoung noted as he too saw his hands appear, before looking at Mark and Youngjae too. “All of us are starting to lose our invisibility.”

“What the hell, no way.” Mark frantically ran a diagnostic on their watches. “This can’t be possible? Our watch programs are being overwritten.”

Suddenly panicked shouting, yelling and gun shots filled the air and a portal opened up in front of the four men huddling behind the clusters of bushes and trees.

Bracing themselves with weapons at the ready, they all waited to see who they were about to deal with.

To their surprise, Sho Hyuk, Jackson and only three of the six men they had originally, appeared before them, one with a nasty gunshot wound to the arm.

”We're going to have to move out as soon as possible,” Sho Hyuk insisted as they come through the portal rather quickly, shutting it behind him him just as quickly.

“Why are we all visible? What the hell is going on,” Mark pressed urgently.

“It’s Ho Sung,”

“What? They're here now?” Youngjae panicked.

“Yes and Ho Sung, he some how got a hold of my invisibility disruptor blueprints that I made for the System to pass on to the main Board of the Guardians. This means that someone on the board betrayed us, they may have been handed over way too soon and before the others were arrested. Three of our soldiers are down, our reinforcements are coming, but not soon enough and my cover is now compromised.”

“This is bad, Min Sung, very bad,” Youngjae said as he clung to Jaebeom protectively.

“I know, and to make this worse Ho Sung saw my face, so he now knows I am not in the badlands recruiting more assholes.” Sho Hyuk sighed. “He knows I’m on your side now and he wasn’t impressed. We need to get as faraway from here until the reinforcements get here. I did all I can do for now. I’ve rendered their portal skill useless. They can’t use it anymore. They have to resort to running after us.”

“Well that’s some good news at least. Where do we go then? Is anywhere around here safe?” Mark asked calmly.

“I’m not 100% sure.”Sho Hyuk thought for a moment. “ I think we should scatter in four teams of two, I’m sending him back to Yugyeom for treatment for his wound. In the mean time we really need to move we’re too close to the enemy right now.” He opened his portal and ushered the injured soldier through.

Once it closed, he turned his attention back to the others. “Right, teams of two, Jaebeom and Youngjae you two need to separate,” Sho Hyuk began.

“Wait no, I’m his Guardian. I need to stay with him.” Youngjae protested vehemently.

“Youngjae, having the two,of you together is a bad idea right now, they’re after both of , remember? If we’re going to keep you both as safe as we possibly can, you being Jaebeom’s Guardian right now is a bad thing.” Sho Hyuk argued.

“I’ll take Jaebeom,” Jackson volunteered. “Mark and Jinyoung, you two stay in your team. Youngjae you go with Sho. You two know each other’s skills and how each other works. You were the elite team back in the day. I think that’s best way to do this right now.. You two can stay together as well,” Jackson told the remaining two soldiers. “See If you can head around the back way to the house and take a couple of them out as quickly and as quietly as possible. 

The two soldiers nodded and did as Jackson had instructed.

Youngjae looked at Jaebeom and then up at Jackson. “You’d better keep him safe, Wang! I won’t forgive you if he gets hurt!”

“You just worry about your own ass, I’ll take care of his,” Jackson said as he grabbed Jaebeom by the jacket and pulled him up. “We’ll message you when I find us a decent safety spot.”

“Wait,” Youngjae grabbed Jaebeom by the arm and stopped him. “Please do as Jackson says and don’t take chances, no matter what happens to the rest of us, you keep moving. Got it!?”

Jaebeom placed his hand over Youngjae’s “Youngjae I..”

“Promise me!” Youngjae gripped Jaebeom’s arm tighter.

I promise,” Jaebeom agreed, “but the same goes for you too.”

“Don’t worry about Youngjae, I’ll keep his ass in line,” Sho Hyuk reassured him.

“Sorry Sho,” Jaebeom apologised leaving Sho Hyuk puzzled for a second, until Jaebeom pulled Youngjae up from the ground and into an embrace kissing him passionately. 

Sho Hyuk said nothing as Jaebeom kissed him, he had kind of expected it.

“I love you,” Jaebeom said softly his hands cupping Youngjae’s face

“I know,” Youngjae replied touching Jaebeom's cheek.

“Okay, that’s enough you two, we don’t have time for this,” Jackson said as he pried them apart. “Come on you.” He continued to drag Jaebeom away from the others.

Youngjae watched as Jackson dragged Jaebeom off, the kiss still lingering on his lips and he sighed.

“Right,” Sho Hyuk began, bringing Youngjae back to the moment at hand. “At this point in time we are out numbered. So here’s the run down, If we can’t take a few of their men down, before our reinforcements arrive, we could be in a lot of trouble. The good thing about them using the invisibility disruptor though, is that it affects the user too.” 

“Fair fight at least,” Jinyoung acknowledged as he kept an eye out for the enemy.

“Not good for us though,” Mark reminded him. They have real guns we, have stun guns, big difference. They still have the advantage over us.”

Jinyoung glanced up at Sho Hyuk. “So what do we do then?”

“We have to put some of their men out of commission, we have no choice. We can either wait here and hide until they come into this area to look for us and jump them, or head back to the house and help the other two we sent back. If we circle back around we might be able to get there and cause some kind of distraction, take their search to the back end of the area. If we can make them think we’re there, we might have a better chance of taking out a few of them out before the reinforcements arrive.”

“Why can’t we just teleport?” Jinyoung asked him.

“They’ll be expecting us to do that, that’s why,” Youngjae replied. “We need something that will cause them to separate, even if it’s for a short time. I do have an idea, but I need to know your budget for destroying private property?”

“What has that got to do with anything?” Sho Hyuk looked at Youngjae suspiciously

“Do,you have one?”

“Yes, but,”

“How much?”

“ I’d rather avoid blowing up Jaebeom’s house, Choi Youngjae.” Sho Hyuk folded his arms.

“How much?” Youngjae pressed.

“150 million won,” Sho Hyuk relented, “but you’re still not blowing up his house.”

“That’s more than enough, and it’s not his house I’m going to blow up,” Youngjae grinned as he sent a message through to Yugyeom, “it’s his car.”

Mark looked at over at him. “He’s not going to like that very much.”

“Don’t think he has much of a choice right now to be honest,” Jinyoung grinned as a small portal opened and. a bag was thrown through, landing by his feet, before closing again.

“So,” Youngjae grinned as Jinyoung handed him the explosives, “I need a very small portal to be able to get this set up under the car. Min Sung, can you re calibrate your watch enough to set a portal to match the width of an exhaust pipe mouth? His is about 12 centimetres, if you can get it small enough for me to just slide some of this in there, we’ll all be laughing.”

“All except Jaebeom,” Mark reminded him.

“Sho, will reimburse him, he can buy a better car and he’ll thank me later,” Youngjae smirked.

“Or, kick your ass,” Mark added.

“I’ll worry about that when the time comes,” Youngjae said waving his hand at Mark. “unless, anyone has a better idea?”

Silence.

“No? Okay, good. It’s settled work your magic, Min Sung”

Sho Hyuk had almost forgotten just how smart and resourceful Youngjae was and it made him a little nostalgic, he found himself staring at Youngjae and smiling

“What?” Youngjae asked seeing the look on Sho Hyuk's face

“Oh, nothing, sorry I was just thinking.” He shook the thoughts off and set about creating the portal that Youngjae had asked for, reminding himself he was here to do a job and it needed to be done so this could all just be over and done with, for everyone, and then they could go home.

“Right, it's done. Be ready, you only have a few seconds to do this. The portal is too small to sustain itself for any longer than that. You need to get it right the first time, understood?”

“Loud and clear,” Youngjae replied as Sho Hyuk tapped his watch and the portal opened.

Youngjae was quick to get onto his knees and peer into portal, He began to gently push the explosive as far down into the exhaust pipe as quickly as he could, attaching the small detonator to the end and primed the button on his side of the portal. He’d just barely finished just as the portal shut.

“Nice work Youngjae!” Sho Hyuk complimented him

Thanks,” Youngjae said with a smirk, then turning his attention back to the matter at hand he sighed a deep sigh outwards. “Okay let's do this let's do this! Sorry, Jaebeom,” Youngjae apologised with a serious look on his face

Then he smiled and pressed the button.


	59. Chapter 59

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the first chapter of a new fic up... Don't know why, but when I try to use tags I've used before, some of them won't come up for some reason. I shall pout now lol. grr cabbage!

Jackson threw Jaebeom to the ground, lying over him protecting him, as soon as he heard the explosion.

When the noise subsided, he got up, helping a terrified looking Jaebeom up from the ground, then dragged him under a semi hidden crevice created by a nearby fallen tree laying over a fairly deep, but dry ditch.

“What the hell was that?” Jaebeom asked still shaking. I thought we were going to die. My poor heart is racing so damn fast.” He suddenly had a thought, “Youngjae,” he panicked. “Jackson, we have to go back, we,” he was interrupted by the sound of Jackson’s watch going off.

Jackson looked from Jaebeom, to the message he had just received and then back. “Youngjae said they’re fine and not to panic, but he blew up your car.” Jackson told him straight faced.

“Oh that’s okay then as long as the...” Jaebeom suddenly stopped and reassessed what Jackson had just said . “BLEW UP MY CAR!! WHY THE HELL DID HE BLOW UP MY CAR! WHAT THE HELL WAS HE...?”

The rest of his words were muffled by the force of Jackson’s hand, silencing his loudness. “Shh, damn it if they hear you we’re in trouble.”

“But my car,” Jaebeom sighed, “it was only 6 months old. I just paid the rego.”

“Sho Hyuk will replace it. Youngjae said he’s sorry, but he needed a distraction and Sho Hyuk wouldn’t let him blow up the house.”

“What? He was going to blow up my house?” Jaebeom said sounding a little stressed.

“He also says not to worry, he’s was just kidding about the house,” Jackson read the messages as they came through.

Jaebeom let out a long sigh. “That little... He is so, lucky I love him!”

Jackson suddenly laughed.

“What?” Jaebeom asked him looking puzzled.

“I’ve loved that idiot for such a long time, but I’ve never stood a chance, Min Sung had him for a few years and even after he was ‘gone’ I wasn’t even in the running and now he’s back, and there’s you,” Jackson said a little amused by the situation. “You fell pretty hard and fast for Youngjae and he accepted you, even though you’re here in the past and even though you guys knew you could be separated, you still became a short term couple.”

“Are we really doing this now?” Jaebeom sighed.

“Yes, we are,” Jackson insisted. “I want to know why, when it kills me inside having him around and not being able to have him, why you’d put yourself through the trauma of knowing you could lose him after this is all over? Why would you even do that?”

Jaebeom thought for a moment and then let out a slight laugh. “That’s just how much I love him. I’d rather have him for the shorter period of time, than not have him at all. Knowing how I feel about him and not doing anything about it would make me wonder how it would have been, instead of how it was. If that makes sense? If he chooses to be with Sho after all. It’s okay, I love him enough to let him go, I know how much Youngjae means to Sho. It’s in his eyes when he looks at him.”

“It’s in your eyes too, the depth of your love, I mean he just blew up your car and you’re like really mad and then less than a minute later you say ‘he’s lucky I love him’. I would have kicked the little shit’s ass if he did that to my car, whether I loved him or not.” Jackson chuckled.

Jaebeom laughed quietly. “Well if I had to choose between the car and Youngjae, it would be Youngjae all the way! I just hope that it got him the distraction he needed.”

“And took took out some of the bad guys, that would be nice,” Jackson added as his watch went off again. “Shit! What the hell is going on, Sho just said he’s been informed the reinforcements have been delayed.”

“What the hell? Why and how much longer?”

“They had to deal with a team of Anti-guardians trying to break into the Guardian’s weapons store house back in the future. They’re not sure about time, they’ve only just rounded the last lot up.”

“Shit,” Jaebeom sighed. “This is ridiculous, I need to go back to Youngjae, I should be helping, not hiding and besides he’s the one that should be hiding not me. Without his help, I can’t move forward in the future. If they get him then everything is going to be extremely messed up.”

“If they get either one of you that will happen. Look, Youngjae might seem a crazy, vulnerable guy who seems like he needs protection, but trust me, you’ve never seen him at his best, and in situations like this, he is at his best, but you being around him right now will only distract him, and Sho knows that. Youngjae's feelings for you are extremely clouded right now, so being with Sho is where he needs to be at this point in time, they bring out the best in each other when it comes to their team work.” Jackson informed him.

Jaebeom sighed. Jackson was right, going back now would be stupid. He would only get in the way. At least he had his stun gun, but hopefully he wouldn’t have to use it.

~*~

Ho Sung and Han Seok had been scouring the house for clues as you to what happens to the others.

They figured out quite quickly that they’d obviously been caught.

“This is what happens when you trust the wrong people, like your brother.” Han Seok snapped.

“How the hell was I to know he was playing us. I had no,idea he was with the System until I saw him in the midst of the chaos.”

“He’s good, though, too good, I’ll give him that much. Being a triple agent isn’t easy, he played us well and truly. If I wasn’t so pissed, I’d be impressed!” Han Seok snorted.

Suddenly a loud explosion, filled their ears and they both found themselves ducking.

“What the fuck was that?” Han Seok said his eyes wide and crouching low.

“Ho Sung crawled towards the front door and opened it a little, “What the hell?”

“What happened, what the hell was is it?” Han Seok asked urgently.

“The car, it blew sky high,” Ho Sung informed him. “We’ve got at least four to five men down from what I can see.”

“How the hell did this happen?” Han Seok growled.

The two of them cautiously walked outside, guns at the ready observing the chaos around them in the aftermath of the explosion

“They must have come back.” Ho Sung said trying to understand himself the mysteriousness of the car exploding all of a sudden.

“How could they have got past the others without being seen?” Han Seok mused. “Unless, they managed to over ride the invisibility disruptor?”

“Not possible, this is one of Min Sung’s inventions,” Ho Sung began adamantly. “It won’t have a flaw like that, not if it were built for the Guardians to use. He wouldn’t have handed the prints over if that was the case.”

“Sir, we have five wounded, debris wounds, burns from the immediate blast area and broken bones from being thrown. We’re down to seven men,” One of the Anti-Guardian soldiers reported in.

“Get these men inside now. You two, treat their wounds immediately, the rest of you when, you’re done getting them inside, you’re with us!” Ho Sung shouted his orders.

He looked at what was left of the car as it burned, then scanned the area afterwards, he looked over past the house back the way he’d came and happened to glance into the small clearing before the Forrest

There, in front of him, as if mocking him, stood two of the System soldiers along with Sung Min and Youngjae, just standing there watching them.

“Han Seok,” Ho Sung caught his attention.

“What?” Han Seok asked as he walked up to him.

Ho Sung pointed saying nothing and Han Seok followed the direction his finger was pointing in.

Han Seok glared at the four of them. “How did no one see them? How?” He said angrily as the Min Sung and Youngjae waved then the four of them portalled out.

“I don’t think they got past us,” Ho Sung said thinking about the situation.

“How the hell did they do it then?”

“Pretty sure this is Min Sung's handy work. Min Sung probably tampered with the structural integrity of a portal. Using a normal portal we would have seen them, definitely. They don’t use guns like ours, so it’s not possible for them to have sniped the car. I’d say he’s miniaturised a portal and somehow placed explosives into it somewhere close to the petrol tank. My brother isn’t exactly lacking in skill. But sadly though, the next time I run into him, I really will have to kill him.” Ho Sung sighed.

“Shame, we definitely could use his skills and mindset.,” Han Seok said feeling a little disappointed.

Ho Sung laughed. “Sadly, mind control hasn't been invented yet, even in our time and even if it had been, knowing him, he'd have a counter measure. That's how good he is.”

“Wasting his talents on the wrong side. Never mind, you have to do what you have to do Ho Sung. He's better dead than hindering us.”

“Yeah but first we have to find them. I guess random portalling is about to happen, no point in trying to locate them because they can just move. They won't run , Min Sung wants to finish this here, I know him. It's why he turned up here!” Ho Sung decided. “When the men get back get them to go the side we saw them.”

“We can't send them after Min Sung and Youngjae, that would be suicide. Those two are dangerous on their own let alone together.” Han Seok protested.

“I'm not sending them after those two, they're trying to put us off their trail. We'll send two of our men after the System soldiers first, then the rest of us will split up and try to find the rest of Min Sung's merry band. Jaebeom wasn't with them, so he's obviously in hiding, but he will have an agent with him, since Youngjae's with Min Sung. They've got smart, separated them, makes our lives a bit more difficult, but I'm sure we'll find them sooner or later. “

“Splitting up is going to be hard,” Han Seok sighed. “We've lost five of our men to injury. Two are taking care of them, that leaves five, not including us.”

“We can work with seven, we took out three of Min Sung's men as they ran for it, right before they portalled out. That left Jackson and Min Sung, plus three of their soldiers. We know Youngjae is with Min Sung, and Jaebeom and Jackson weren't with them, so my hunch is Jackson and Jaebeom are together somewhere in the vicinity.” Ho Sung surmised.

“That's only six. No point counting Jaebeom, he'd be useless in a fight, we'd take him straight out,” Han Seok chortled.

“So, six of them, seven of us, we have a one person advantage,” Odds are stacked in our favour.” Ho Sung smirked.

Han Seok nodded, quite pleased with that idea. “Right then, let's plan out who's going to after Youngjae, Jaebeom and Min Sung.” 

Scanning the area slowly and carefully, “Ho Sung placed his hands on his hips and grinned. “All going well, we should have this wrapped up by morning,” he said enthusiastically.

From the bushes not far away Mark and Jinyoung nodded to each other and smiled.

Now they realised why Min Sung had sent them back to Youngjae and Jaebeom earlier, right before the initial chaos of the Anti-Guardians arriving.

Ho Sung and Han Seok had no idea they were there.


	60. Chapter 60

Min Sung and Youngjae portalled back into the other side of the forest. Min Sung was fiddling with his watch as they crouched down under a large bush nearby

“You know they going to know we came back this side right?” Youngjae told Min Sung as he watched him playing around with his watch. “And what are you doing?”

“I made that damn invisibility disruptor, So I, in theory, should be able to override it.”

“Can you?”

“Can I? What do you mean can I? Of course I can, who do you think I am?” Min Sung snorted.

“The guy who makes this shit, then tends to forget to make versions that can counteract what he makes.”

“Shut up.” Min Sung snorted.”I have everyone believing I do it intentionally, don’t spoil it for me.”

“You asked.” Youngjae chuckled.

“You’re still such a smart ass,” Min Sung grinned at Youngjae.

“You really should remember those things. They are kind of important you know?” Youngjae said teasing him.

“And again, shut up. And anyway, I never think to make them, because I don’t expect my originals to fall into the wrong hands. Sadly, this one did. I’m a little bit cross about it.”

Youngjae chortled. “A little bit cross, you’re never a ‘little bit cross’, you’re just like, well shit, that happened, now what?”

“True, but it is annoying.” Min Sung sighed.

“At least, like you said, they’re stuck with visible too, and that I’m pretty much grateful for. It would suck so much more if they still had that advantage.” Youngjae peeked out over the bushes.

“See anything?” Min Sung asked him.

“Yeah, I do.” Youngjae replied as he looked ahead of him past the bush

Min Sung stopped playing around with his watch and attempted to take a peek where Youngjae was looking. “Is it them?”

“Nope.” Youngjae replied

“Nope? Well, what is it then?” He asked peering harder

“Trees, bushes, sand. Ooh! Bunny! Ow, that hurt you jerk.” Youngjae rubbed his arm.

“It was meant to, you bloody pain in the ass.” Min Sung grinned.

“You’re still so mean to me,” Youngjae retorted playfully, poking Min Sung in the side. “And you made me scare the bunny away.”

“We’re in the middle of trying to stay alive and you’re on about bunnies. Glad to see you’ve not changed in my absence.” Min Sung laughed quietly.

“Bunnies are important,” Youngjae said flicking Min Sung on the forehead gently. “Speaking of which, do you think I look like an otter?”

“A what?” Min Sung gave him an odd look.

“An otter, Jaebeom said I look like an otter.” He pulled his phone out and pulled a picture up of one.

“How did we get to this?” Min Sung looked both amused and confused at the same time.

Youngjae showed him the picture of an otter with it’s hands by it’s face and then copied what it was doing.”

“Seriously, you look like an idiot, not an otter.” Min Sung said trying not to laugh as he grabbed Youngjae’s phone and turned it off, putting it back in his pocket. “Next thing you’ll be trying to tell me that you can morph into a deer or something

Youngjae went to open his mouth, but Min Sung was too fast for him, shoving his handover his mouth before he could speak again. “You, just shush. Pay attention you nutcase.”

Youngjae grinned as Min Sung finally took his hand from his mouth. “I was only going to say, that isn’t possible.”

“Of course you were,” Min Sung said as he raised an eyebrow.

“So, getting back to being serious, any more news on our reinforcements yet?” Youngjae asked him.

“No nothing at all since the last message saying they would be late.” Min Sung said as he checked his watch for any new messages.

“Oh, well with a bit of luck, Mark and Jinyoung can execute their next move with out incident, that will take out two more of them at least. They just have to make it back into the house without getting caught.” Youngjae said as he sent Jackson a message about their plans.

“They should be fine they would have figured out already, why I sent them back to the others before. Ho Sung will more than likely send two of his men after our soldiers.” Min Sung relayed to Youngjae. “He, Han Seok and the other remaining men will split up to try and find us. Once they make their move Mark and Jinyoung will more than likely make theirs.”

Min Sung checked his watch again as it went off.

“I sent a message through to Bambam and Yugyeom telling them what to expect. Yugyeom’s just replied. They’ll have a couple of medics and soldiers standing by to receive the injured Anti-Guardian men, once Mark and Jinyoung have taken the other two out.”

“I kind of feel bad that they got hurt,” Youngjae confessed.

“You did what you had to, you big softy, they’re not dead and they’ll fix them up when they get back. They’ll be in good hands, you know that.” Min Sung said ruffling his hair. “And besides they would have killed us without remorse and you also know that.”

“True, and I didn’t know at that point, that any of them would be near the car when I blew it up.” Youngjae reminded himself.

“Exactly,” Min Sung agreed, “but anyway, we should be on our guard, they’re not going to just walk on in and find us. I’m betting cat and mouse portalling is about to happen. You can cover a lot of ground with a few people doing that, so we should head deeper into the forest.”

“Yeah, good idea, they’ll be working their way around the inner edges first. Their mindset would probably be along the lines of assuming we’re actually watching them.” Youngjae surmised.

“Okay, let’s move out. Keep your stun gun at the ready. If they suddenly appear right in front of us, our lives will depend on who pulls the trigger fastest.”

“Got it captain,” Youngjae saluted as the two of them started making their way further into the forest.

“I’ve sent a message to Jackson. Letting them know to do the same, if they haven’t already.” Min Sung told Youngjae as they swiftly moved forward through the trees.

Youngjae’s watch went off and he quickly checked his message. “Idiot.” He chuckled.

“Jaebeom sending you love notes?” Min Sung asked with a grin.

“Haha, cute, but no. He just wanted to know if we’re okay. He said they’ve already gone deeper and they found a good hiding spot for now,” Youngjae relayed back to him. “Jaebeom said, that Jackson said to tell you, they’ll move again if they need to, but depending on who comes looking for them he’ll do his best to try and take another one or two down.”

Min Sung nodded. “Okay send them my thanks. Was that your phone?”

“Oh shoot, yeah sorry,” he apologised as he grabbed it out of his coat pocket, checked the messages and then grinned, “Idiot,” he said again as he quickly showed Min Sung the selfies Jaebeom had just sent him.

Min Sung rolled his eyes. “Is anyone besides me taking this situation seriously?” He chuckled. “No wonder you two clicked, he’s almost as crazy as you. Sending selfies is just as bad as talking about bunnies and otters. You’re both weirdos.”

“Hey, Jackson’s in the pictures too you know, so why are we the only weirdos.” Youngjae grinned.

“Because I know Jackson and I’m betting Jaebeom coerced him into it, just look at Jackson’s face in those. That isn’t the face of a willing subject.” Min Sung pointed out. “That’s the face of a guy who would rather eat worms than take a selfie with some one.”

“That’s our Jackson right there,“ Youngjae laughed.

Min Sung suddenly pulled Youngjae behind a large tree ducking down as his watch went off again. “Mark and Jinyoung are clear to head to the house. Ho Sung and His teams have made their first portal into the forrest. We’ll need to be quiet and careful from here on in. So I don’t want to hear any more about bunnies, otters, Jaebeom or Jackson. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Youngjae smirked as he followed Min Sung deeper into the forest.

~*~

Mark motioned for Jinyoung to head right as they came out from their cover of the forest.

Jinyoung checked for the enemy before nodding and then he and Mark hightailed it towards the house. They knew they needed to be absolutely quiet.

Without their ability to become invisible, they were like sitting ducks on a pond and neither of them felt like being dead. So getting killed was out of the question as far as they were concerned.

Mark spoke with his hands, their special coded language that he and Jinyoung had thought up themselves and used when needing to communicate under these types of circumstances where stealth and precision was not to be compromised.

Jinyoung nodded and headed around the back of the house, Mark followed staying behind him out for sight.

Grabbing a large rock from the floor, Jinyoung threw it at the back door and as it connected he ran back to the opposite side of where Mark was and waited.

~*~

Inside the house the two Anti-Guardian soldiers were tending to the wounds of their fallen comrades when a loud bang came from the back end of the house.

“What the hell was that?” The one closest to the lounge room door asked.

“Want me to go check?” The other one asked.

“Yeah just be careful, there’s a lot of wild vermin out there, and I don’t just mean the enemy,” he said with a smirk.

“The boss did say something about raccoon dogs being more common around here and not to freak out if we hear one or two weird noises. I’ll be back in a few.”

“Just make sure you don’t get bitten, I’m not gonna tend to you if you do. I don’t want to have to deal with all of them on my own,” he complained referring to his injured teammates.

“Don’t worry, I can deal with vermin, human or otherwise,” the other one said confidently as he’s headed out to the back door.

On reaching the back door, he checked out of the side window, making sure that the coast was clear as he cautiously opened the door. Looking out he could see nothing and frowned.

Checking around again, he could,see the cost was clear and stepped outside onto the porch. It wasn’t until he kicked something beneath him, that he looked down and saw the rock.

“What the hell?” He bent down to pick it up and. Puzzled over it. The coast was clear and he scratched his head. He walked out into the open and looked around and it was then that he looked to his right.

By the time he realized what was going it was too late and Mark caught him before he hit the floor.

Jinyoung grinned as he held his stun gun up and Mark nodded, impressed at how quickly the first guy had been taken out.

Sending a message back to Yugyeom and Bambam he asked them to get ready to receive and ready to send the medics.

Creating a portal Jinyoung and Mark quickly carried him through handing him to Bambam and Yugyeom, before heading straight back to finish their task and then they reentered the house casually, in order to lull the remaining Anti-Guardian into a false sense of security.

Hearing the back door close again, the remaining guy, continued to clean and dress wounds of their unconscious teammates as he spoke. “All good?” He asked not looking up as a shadow appeared above him.

Mark glanced at Jinyoung and grinned as he aimed his stun gun at the guy and pulled the trigger.

“Everything’s just perfect,” Mark replied, smiling, as the Anti-Guardian slumped onto the floor unconscious.

“But thanks for asking,” Jinyoung added with a grin.

Mark sent another message through and a team of medics portalled straight in, followed by Yugyeom and Bambam.

The medics swiftly and carefully took the wounded away, while Yugyeom and Bambam removed the remaining Anti-Guardian.

“I’ll refortify the house as our stronghold,” Mark began. “Let Min Sung and the others know we’ve succeeded in taking it back.”

“On it,” Jinyoung replied with a grin.

~*~

“This is going to take forever!” Han Seok complained as they portalled to their second location. “Not much we can do, sir. We’re unable to track them with our equipment, because they’re not in our system.

Han Seok rolled his eyes. “Yes, I do know that, you dimwit. They’ll no doubt be heading deeper into the forest area. Ho Sung can play around the edges. He won’t find them there. We need to try and pinpoint the area they’d most likely be in.”

He stood leaning against a large tree as he thought about what they could do. 

“They’ll be apart, but I’m assuming not that far apart. Close, but not too close. And they still have their portalling abilities, that’s the most annoying thing. And In order to find Min Sung we need to think like Min Sung, which is near on impossible, because god only knows what that man is thinking on any given day. His brother’s exactly the same.”

Han Seok paused for a moment so he could contemplate their next move. “I’ve got an idea,” he began, “contact the other men back at the house. See if they brought the infra red scanner, thing, the one that detects body heat.”

“You mean the thermal scanner, sir.” The soldier asked

“If that’s what it’s called, then yes. I don’t do technical, that’s Ho Sung’s area of expertise.” He sighed as he looked around the immediate area and then back at the soldier who was looking at him a little dumbfounded. “Don’t just stand there looking like an idiot, contact them.” 

“Yes, sir, sorry, sir.” The soldier saluted as he did as Han Seok requested. “Sir, we have a problem either the tracking and communication are broken on this watch, or our men in the house have disappeared.

“What?” Han Seok checked his watch, confirming himself what the soldier had just told him. “7 men don’t just disappear,” he said with a frown.

“No one’s returned my message either sir, normally they reply straight back.”

“They wouldn’t desert their post would they?” Han Seok sighed.

“No, sir. Never!l”

“Then I suggest you get a hold of Ho Sung.” 

"But, why, sir?”

“Because, you ignoramus,” Han Seok began rather irritated by the solider’s lack of common sense, “someone from team Min Sung has snaked their way back into that house.”


	61. Chapter 61

Jackson and Jaebeom remained hidden under their fallen tree hideaway. So far there had been no sign of the bad guys and they both were quite happy to leave it that way.

Not that they and any control over it, but the longer they avoided conflict, the better.

Jackson had confiscated Jaebeom’s phone after the selfie incident. He'd simply told, him he could have it back when he was ready to let him have it back and whining about it wouldn’t help.

They sat quietly, knowing that any noise in the quiet of the night, would more than likely get them noticed.

Jaebeom sighed. It had been at least half an hour since the last contact with the Sho Hyuk and Youngjae, and Jaebeom couldn’t help worry despite what Jackson had told him earlier

It was very cold now and luckily the thermal vests they had on under their shirts were giving them some warmth at least and being under the log in their hidey hole at least gave them a little shelter.

Jaebeom was about to say something when Jackson held up, his hand and put his finger to his lips.

Voices.

They could hear voices coming towards them, not loud, but loud enough in the still of the night to hear.

Barely even allowing themselves to breathe properly, the two of them remained unmoving and silent as the voices began to near.

“What the hell? All of them? Are you kidding me? How could you let that happen?”

“Why the hell is this my fault. I didn’t cause the explosion and I certainly didn’t expect them to get caught so damned easily.”

Jackson recognised the fainter second speaker, obviously coming through the phone, as Han Seok, so he surmised that it was more than likely Ho Sung that was closest to their location, and the other footsteps they could hear were obviously Anti-Guardian soldiers.

Judging by the sound of the footsteps, there were at least two others with him.

Jackson was, at this point, glad their tree was flanked by large bushes on either side. The fact that it had fallen between them, was their saving grace.

“Any idea who’s in there?” Ho Sung asked impatiently.

“How the hell would I know; and why does it even matter for goodness sake? It could be any of them.” Han Seok replied just as impatiently

Ho Sung sighed, his frustration showing in his voice. “I’m sending one of mine back to you as we speak,” he informed Han Seok as he nodded for one of his men to go back. “Try not to get yourselves captured, it’s already embarrassing enough that my brother’s ex boyfriend took out a few of our men when he blew that car up right in front of our faces.”

“That’s rather unfair, considering how sneaky and underhanded it was done, considering none of us were expecting it either.” Han Seok grumbled.

“Stop whining and just do what needs to be done. No point in just hiding in shadows like Min Sung’s lot, the cowards.”

Jackson made a grumpy face and frowned.

Cowards.

Jackson in particular thought that was unfair, of course they were probably going to hide until the reinforcements got here. How dare they. Brazenly calling them cowards when they were out to kill.

No one wanted to be shot at, especially him.

Avoidance, unless they could them in a surprise attack, preferably without getting shot, was Jackson goal.

The only things stopping him from conducting said surprise attack was that they were at a slight disadvantage. 

They couldn’t see anything from where they were and the tree they were hiding under blocked any forward sight and the bushes were thick, which gave them camouflage they needed, but at the same time impaired their vision from the other side as well and the other was two against one. 

He certainly wasn’t going to let Jaebeom risk his life by helping him.

Which Jackson figured he would, because Jaebeom was already frustrated enough about having to hide, instead of being able to do something himself.

He could take the soldier on himself, but he wasn’t too sure about Ho Sung and just running out there would be suicide. For one he’d give away their hiding place and two, they had guns, he had a stunner. It would be all over for Jaebeom if he carelessly ran out now.

Jackson needed to get their attention and he thought hard about how about how he could do it. Frustratingly he couldn’t create a portal because he needed a clear space to do so and where they were was just too tight a squeeze. 

He could possibly recalibrate the settings, but it would be too small for him to get through in the tiny space they had.

Until he could think of something solid, it was staying put for them.

Jackson looked over at Jaebeom his eyes were closed and he was hugging his knees. 

He could tell the poor man was scared, but that was understandable. It’s not every day you had to hide in fear of losing your life, but this guy had been running for so long, that Jackson thought he’d be used to it, but then again who would really get used to be hunted down like a rabid dog.

No one.

Not even him, and he was trained to deal with situations like that, however the idea of dying was never a nice thought and dying was not on his agenda, not today, not tomorrow and if Jackson had his way, certainly not at their hands.

“What was that?” The soldier suddenly asked.

“I have no idea,” Ho Sung replied. “Stay on your guard Min Sung’s lot are sneaky. I’ll go check. You stay here in case they turn up, but get behind that fallen tree over there.

Jaebeom and Jackson looked at each other. Both of them stayed completely still careful not to make a sound as they heard one lot of footsteps hurrying off in one direction and the approach of footsteps coming towards their sanctuary. 

If the soldier were to peer into the bushes, they would be in serious trouble.

Jaebeom had now grabbed his hand it and was holding it tightly. If the situation had allowed, he probably would have thought it funny. But due to the impending predicament they were now in, it really was, no laughing matter.

The footsteps stopped next to the tree and the two of them sat there praying hard they wouldn’t be found.

“What the, shit! HO SU,”

Was all they heard before all hell suddenly broke loose behind them. Their hearts were beating like a steam train at full power. 

Seconds later it was all over and they wondered what the hell had just happened.

“Move it you two,” a familiar voice said from above them. “preferably before Ho Sung gets back.”

The two of them couldn’t scramble out if their hole any faster, Jaebeom more than happy to see Youngjae’s smiling face again.

“Are you alright,” Jaebeom asked hugging him, then him looking him up and down while walking around him.

“Stop fussing you old man.” Youngjae smiled pulling him to a standstill. “I’m fine.”

Holding the unconscious soldier between he and Min Sung, Jackson opened a portal.

“We’ll quickly take this one back to the holding cells back at the guardian safe house.” Sho Hyuk began. “Portal back to the house. We’ll join you soon. Youngjae don’t leave his side.”

“I won’t. Come on Jaebeom.” Youngjae saluted, as the other two portalled out.” He pressed the button on his watch and the portal opened.

And then closed before they could take it. “What the?” Youngjae tried again. Jaebeom watched as it happened two more times.

“It’s not working, why isn’t it working?” Youngjae was panicking now hitting his button over and over again.

Then they froze as the heart footsteps.

“I don’t know what the hell that was, we panicked for nothing.” They heard Ho Sung say as he got closer

“He’s coming back. What do we do?” 

And then he was there in front of them.

Ho Sung stopped in his tracks shocked and stunned to see the two people he was after in front of him.

“What do we do?” Youngjae repeated as if Jaebeom had just asked the dumbest question in the world.

By the time Ho Sung realised the irony of the situation, Youngjae had grabbed Jaebeom’s hand taking advantage of the precious moment.

“We run.”


	62. Chapter 62

“We run,” Youngjae dragged Jaebeom by the hand into the Forrest before Ho Sung had a chance to even react.

Ho sung, realising the opportunity he'd just missed, grabbed his gun from his holster and gave chase.

Youngjae internally cursed at his portal system. He tried to think why it wasn’t working and the only reason he could think of was that the re-calibration to widen the portal when he’d made allowances for the size of Jaebeom’s car to go through must have been too much.

He’d remembered that right after he had reset it to it’s original settings, that he had trouble getting it to work right before he’d been shot a few days earlier. It had barely opened the second time, but it wasn’t quick enough to open for him to make it through before the bullet hit.

He didn’t feel like getting shot again, once was more than enough.

He and Jaebeom ran as fast as they could through the forest ducking low branches jumping, the smaller fallen trees, they’d stopped holding hands after other initial escape it was too cumbersome when running.

They stuck close together as they ran, Ho Sung close behind them had already fired a few warning shots, but the adrenaline rushing through their bodies urged them on as fast as they could go.

Youngjae wished he’d thought of asking Jackson for a new watch for Jaebeom, one with portalling abilities, at least that way they would have had a second way of instant escape.

There wasn’t even time to try and contact the others either, running in fear of their lives was more of necessity at this point in time.

They could hear Ho Sung cursing behind them, no doubt angry at himself for being so stunned at the sight of them instead of grabbing his gun and shooting when he had the chance,

Youngjae assumed that Ho Sung also had no time to stop and call for back up, not if he wanted to keep up with them. At least they had a one man advantage, but having the chance to use it, was going to be the problem.

Another gunshot rang out from behind and Jaebeom yelled in fright as the bark of the tree he was running past exploded into pieces. He almost stopped in his tracks, but Youngjae grabbed his shirt pulling him back into the moment and Jaebeom, terrified ran a little faster.

They needed somewhere to hide even for a moment so he could send a message for help.

“How well do you know these woods?” Youngjae asked as they ran in the direction away from the house and back towards the middle of the forest.

“Like the back of my hand. I was out here all the time when I was younger,” Jaebeom replied as they jumped another fallen tree.

“Is there somewhere we can lose him?” Youngjae asked as he ducked narrowly avoiding a slap in the face by a low branch.

“I’ve been thinking about that most of the time since we started running. But nothing comes to mind.” Jaebeom said ducking a low branch himself.

“Come on, there has to be someplace, seriously if I don’t get us some back up we’re seriously screwed.” Youngjae was frustrated he had no idea of the landscape around him. “Seriously, Jaebeom, think, you got this.”

Jaebeom’s mind raced, all the places he’d go to, his hidey holes deep in the forest when he was just a young boy, running through his mind and then he remembering something in his past.

Grabbing Youngjae’s hand suddenly he veered them off to the left. “This way,”

Youngjae stumbled after him until they found their pace again, with Ho Sung crashing through the bushes behind them.

Jaebeom briefly let go of Youngjae’s hand and activated the light on his watch, that Jackson had shown him earlier, and shone it forward.

Youngjae peered ahead and in front of them was a large rock formation. As they ran past it in the opposite direction of an arrow pointing the other way, Youngjae saw the words Jaebeom’s sanctuary written under the arrow and was puzzled as to why Jaebeom had dragged him the other way.

Stopping briefly Jaebeom quickly ran back past it the other way then stepped up onto a smaller rock pulling Youngjae up onto it with up him, he quickly grabbed a fallen branch and wiped away their tracks leading the way they were running tossing it aside to where the arrow was and then motioned to Youngjae to follow him. He jumped from the small rock onto a fallen log just past the rock formation on the opposite side of the arrow, and then jumped down grabbing Youngjae’s hand, helping him down too.

Then it dawned on him as they continued to run in the opposite way to the arrow.

Jaebeom had been smart even as a kid, but would his childhood smarts be enough to get them out of the situation they were in?

Youngjae smiled to himself, of course it would!

After all, this was the Jaebeom who created what was to come.

~*~

Ho Sung almost ran into the huge rock formation in front of him, stopping less than a foot from the looming monolith, but only because he’d lost sight of them for a short while and the moonlight wasn’t enough so he’d put on his light too. He knew they’d come this way, he was sure of it but their tracks seemed to disappear near the arrow.

Looking around he spotted the fallen branch lying on the floor on the side just past the rock on the arrows side.

“Good try, but not good enough,” he said looking back at the opposite side of the rock with no arrow and smirking.

~*~

Jaebeom led Youngjae as fast as he could to the end of the forest where the rock walls of the mountains edge met the greenery and he walked them up to a section covered with moss and creeper like foliage that grew down from the top.

The covering was thick and Youngjae pulled a face as they came to the dead end. “Er, okay. What now? We lost Ho Sung thanks to your quick thinking, but, now we’re kind of stuck.”

Jaebeom just smiled and ran his hand a long the wall until he found what he was looking for.

Youngjae gave him an odd look and then Jaebeom pulled back the vines and Youngjae eyes widened, “What the hell?”

Putting the light on again, Jaebeom shine it into the crevasse . “It’s not much, but it was my place to go to back then,” he said leading the way inside. “Not far now.”

It was another minute or so until the thin pathway they had come through inside of the crevice led them to wooden door, that had been attached to the wall and now a little worse for wear, stood in front of them.

“Here we go,” Jaebeom smiled as he pushed it open.

Youngjae was more than a little surprised to say the least, as it opened up into a wider area.

Jaebeom smiled fondly as he looked around the place.

“Holy shit, this place is amazing!” Youngjae said turning his light on and joining Jaebeom in lighting the place up.

Jaebeom walked over to a rock in the middle of the room. There were large candles sitting upright and a matches lying on it.

“Shine your light here, would you. I need both my hands for this.”

Youngjae did so and Jaebeom turned his off.

Taking the , he lit the candles that were in a semi circle around the rock, which looked like it had been haphazardly shaped into a table of sorts.

He followed Jaebeom around the room until all the other candles were lit.

They also sat on similar stone looking tables and Youngjae stood in awe of the sight that met his eyes.

“Welcome to my cubby house, Youngjae.” Jaebeom smiled

“Did you do all this?” Youngjae asked looking at the tiny chairs, old toys and games that lay around the place.

“I was like five, going on six, no way my grandfather would have let me have hold of sharp cutting or hacking tools.”

“Ah yeah good point!” Youngjae replied sheepishly.

“My grandparents and I were out here for quite a few years. Grandfather would go back and forth to keep an eye on the business. But when he came back, he would bring more supplies for the house and me, stuff to put in here.”

“How did you come across this in the first place?” Youngjae asked.

“It was just by accident. Grandfather used to have a hunting dog,” he began the story. “Grandfather and I would come hunting, well, he would, I’d stay behind him and watch. One day our dog went chasing after a rabbit and we saw him come through here. We followed him all the way to the end and when we came through this big wide area was here. I liked the place so much, that he decided to make it into a cubby for me so I could have alone time when I needed it.”

“Are these of you and your parents?” Youngjae asked noticing a few photos around the place too.

“Yeah, and this one is if me and my grandparents.” Jaebeom pointed another two out.

“Look at this cutie,” Youngjae smiled.

“Shut up, I was not cute.” Jaebeom blushed.

“Yes you were! Look at you! And your mother, wow, she was really beautiful, your father though, he looks like he could kick ass. Man your grandparents are good looking too.” Youngjae smiled over at him. “They really looked like they loved you so much, all of them.”

Jaebeom sighed a little sadly. “I was their world, and they were mine,” He told him as he looked lovingly down at the photos. “I really miss them.”

Youngjae hugged him briefly. “I’m so sorry this all happened. I wish I could change the past for you, but we can’t interfere like that. But if we could, I would go back and fix it for you and I mean that.”

Jaebeom smiled a little tearfully. “That’s really sweet of you. Thank you.”

Youngjae smiled back as Jaebeom gave him a gentle loving look that made him remember why he’d fallen for him in the first place and he sighed. Things were definitely way more complicated for him than he’d like them to be. “I’d better make use of this time and get hold of the others. We need to warn them about Han Seok heading back to them and that we’re trapped in here for now while Ho Sung is wandering around out there.”

Youngjae began to send a message through and Jaebeom sat down on one of the rock tables with out candles. Patting for Youngjae to sit down too.

Youngjae sat beside him as he sent the message. “Right, sent! Let’s make the most of this. I’m pretty sure it won’t be easy for anyone to find.”

Even if I didn’t fool Ho Sung, he shouldn’t be able to find us too quickly.” Jaebeom said proudly.

“I’d prefer it if he didn’t find us at all, but I’m putting my faith in you, Im Jaebeom. I’m betting he went the other way.”

Jaebeom chuckled at Youngjae’s faith in him. “I guess we’ll find out sooner or later.”

Youngjae poked him playfully. “I have the utmost faith in you.”

“No pressure, huh?” Jaebeom said with a raised eyebrow.

“Nope, no pressure at all.” Youngjae gave him a wink

“No, of course not,” Jaebeom replied with a chuckle.

Youngjae laughed. “Look on the bright side, at least we’re warm and safe.”

And that was good enough for now.


	63. Chapter 63

Han Seok watched the house from where he was at the edge of the forest area. If Min Sung and Jackson were there, he and his lackey would at least have a fighting chance.

“Where the hell is that thermal scanner thingy?” Han Seok whined as he waited for his remaining man to get back and at the same time wondered why the hell it was taking Ho Sung and their other soldier so long to get back to them.

Seconds later a message came through from Ho Sung and Han Seok smiled.

“What an idiot,” he grinned as he messaged back, right before the soldier that had gone to get thermal scanner, portalled back.

“About time!” Han Seok turned to face the soldier. “Where’s the thermal radar gun?” He asked puzzle

“Thermal Scanner, sir, and I have some bad news, the hideouts back in the future have been infiltrated. Everyone has been arrested. “

“Everyone?” Han Seok was shocked. “What do you mean everyone? How is that even possible?”

“I don’t know sir. I just got there and the whole place was torn apart. All our equipment has been either destroyed or it’s gone.” The soldier looked extremely stressed. “I even checked the second base and I found a message there saying to stay away, because there’s a high chance they’ll be monitoring the place. So someone may have seen me turn up and then leave again.”

Han Seok rolled his eyes, he was extremely perturbed and frustrated. “Get a hold of Ho Sung! Let him know. Tell him to get back here as soon asap.”

“Yes, sir,” the soldier replied immediately sending Ho Sung a message and then turning back to face Han Seok. “What should we do while we’re waiting, sir?”

“Nothing!” Han Seok replied. “We can’t just go barging in there. We have no idea how many men we have left either, so we stay put until we hear from Ho Sung.”

“Yes, sir.” The soldier agreed.

~*~

Sho Hyuk portalled back to Mark and Jinyoung in the house. “Nice work you two!” He grinned as Jackson followed him out of the portal.

“Where’s Jaebeom and Youngjae?” Jackson asked as he looked around the lounge.

“Weren’t they with you two?” Jinyoung asked, a questioning look on his face.

“We separated to take the other guy back to Bambam and Yugi.” Sho Hyuk informed them. “Are they not back yet?”

“I’ve not seen them,” Mark replied honestly.

“Shit!” Jackson snapped checking his phone. “I have a missed message from Youngjae. He said they’re safe, but Ho Sung saw them together because they couldn’t portal out and they had to run for it. He said his portal function isn’t working.”

“Shit,” Sho Hyuk echoed Jackson’s sentiments. “See if you can get a read on where they are.”

Jackson fiddled with his watch. “Damn it! They might be in a dead zone I can’t get a reading. We’ll need to wait for them to come back into an area that isn’t going to cause a dampener on their signal.”

“This isn’t good,” Sho Hyuk said his face etched with concern for their welfare.

Jackson placed a hand over his shoulder. “They’ll be fine, you know Youngjae better than anyone, he’s quite capable of taking care of himself.”

“I know. It’s just, having Jaebeom with him and no one else to back him up,” he said with a heavy sigh.

“I know, and I get what you’re saying. Jaebeom’s a liability in the equation right now. Youngjae has to protect himself as well as Jaebeom and Jaebeom has no idea how to fight like we do. I mean, I have no doubt he’s capable of landing a punch or two, but if worse came to worse, they’d be screwed.”

“Thanks, Jackson, for those last few non reassuring words.” Sho Hyuk frowned.

“We can go look for them,” Mark offered looking over at Jinyoung who nodded, showing his willingness to help.

Sho Hyuk shook his head. “No, I’ll go, you guys stay here and hold the fort just in case they end up back here and message me if they do. I’ll come straight back.”

“I’ll come with you.” Jackson said not keen on letting Sho Hyuk do this on his own.

“I’d rather you stay here with these two. I’m pretty sure there’s one or two more besides Han Seok and My brother out there. Knowing them, they’ll be working their way back here. I’d rather you three stay together and when I find the other two, we’ll do the same.” Sho Hyuk said, stating his intentions.

“Sho, don’t be a martyr,” Mark stood, “let Jackson come with you. Jinyoung and I can take care of ourselves. We’ve pretty much fortified this place to the brim.”

Sho Hyuk sighed and then looked over at Jackson. “Fine, but at the first sign of trouble you get him to come back. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Mark agreed.

“Alright then, Jackson, let’s go.” Sho Hyuk opened a portal and they left.

Jinyoung sighed a little anxiously.

Mark sat back down beside him placing an arm around his shoulder. “You okay?”

“Can I suggest we put up a portal blocker and let the others know to message before they want back in? I just can’t shake the feeling that we should.”

Jinyoung sounded serious and Mark nodded. “Sure. If it gives you piece of mind, I’ll set it up now, then you can send them the update.”

“Thank you, Mark,” Jinyoung replied gratefully..

Mark leaned in kissing him softly. “I feel like I’ve neglected you a lot lately with everything that’s been going on. I’m sorry.”

Jinyoung gave him a soft smile. “It’s been crazy, no one should ever expect too much in situations like these. When it’s not crazy, you always meet my needs. I just hope I meet yours, as well as you meet mine.”

Mark chuckled, patting him on the knee. “Of course you do, so stop worrying. I love you no matter what, you know that right?”

Jinyoung smiled. “Mhm, I do and same here.”

“I know.” Mark kissed him again and then stood. “Alright, let’s get ourselves out of sap mode. You go ahead and message the others, I’m putting this blocker on now.”

“On it!” Jinyoung grinned as he began to message the others.

Mark smiled affectionately at him as he began to put up the portal blocker.

Once this was over he’d do something special for Jinyoung, god only knows, he deserved it.

~*~

Youngjae wandered over to the far wall of Jaebeom’s amazing cubby house and ran his hand over a picture drawn in the bottom corner and smiled. “Did you do this?”

“Do what?” Jaebeom asked as he wandered over to meet him. “Oh,” he chuckled a little embarrassed seeing what Youngjae had found. “Sadly, yes.”

Youngjae gave him a light stare. “What do you mean, sadly, yes? This is an awesome drawing for a five year old. You copied the picture of your family. That gives it so much more meaning. And I really like it.”

Jaebeom shrugged.

“Oh come on misery guts. This obviously has some meaning for you. Why don’t you like it?” Youngjae said pressing him a little.

Jaebeom sighed, “It brings back way too many memories, good and bad.”

“But why?” Youngjae pressed some more.

Jaebeom sighed. “I did this the last time we were all together. It was just before my parents died.”

Youngjae bit his bottom lip lightly. “Ah, sorry, I didn’t realise.”

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” Jaebeom looked at the drawing and found himself running his hand over it too. “I’ve avoided coming to terms with almost everything that’s happened. I never came back here once I got back from overseas. I ran and ran, never even stopped to see what was really happening. I just hoped everything would go away on it’s own but I knew it wouldn’t. I had no idea until I met you, that I was being protected. I always thought I was just lucky at avoiding the conflict. Now I know it wasn’t luck and I have to admit, I’m actually scared.”

Youngjae stood up and placed a hand over Jaebeom’s shoulder. “I know you are, it shows now, more than it ever has before, but Min Sung will end this, and even though, right now, I know we’re in a bit of a bind, I just have this feeling that everything is going to be okay.”

Jaebeom tried to smile but failed rather miserably and Youngjae could see that everything had begun to take it’s toll on the poor man and gave him a hug.

“I think we would ought to try and regroup with the others,” Youngjae began, as he gently broke the embrace. “We’ll have to leave here sooner or later anyway. I’ve also not received any replies to my messages so I think we might be at a disadvantage signal wise in here too.”

Jaebeom nodded his agreement, as much as he felt safe in his hideaway, he knew Youngjae was right. They’d been in here for ages now and sitting around doing nothing was making him even more anxious. 

Youngjae slid his hand gently into Jaebeom’s and smiled at him. “I’ll be right by your side. We started this together and we’ll see it through together. I’ll do my best to protect you until this is all over. In the meantime, I think you need to take one thing from here that is a special memory for you. Don’t leave it all behind again. Embrace it, your past is what made you strong.”

Jaebeom sighed as he looked around trying to think what was the most precious and significant of all his memories that had been left behind. Not letting go of Youngjae’s hand he pulled him over to a small chest of drawers in the opposite corner and opened the middle one.

Reaching in he pulled out a small octagonal shaped block and smiled at it showing Youngjae as he did so.

“That’s it?” Youngjae asked slightly puzzled by Jaebeom’s choice peering at the block in Jaebeom’s hand.

“I know,it seems weird, but this was the last thing my father ever gave me. He told me to keep it safe and cherish it always, because one day I would understand why he gave it to me, but after he and my mother died. I couldn’t bare to look at it. It was the oddest thing he ever gave me, but I kept it here so it didn’t get damaged. It was my favourite thing back then, it hasn’t even lost it’s shine.”

Youngjae reached out to touch it. “May I?" He asked first.

“Sure, go ahead,” Jaebeom smiled willingly handing it to him.

Youngjae let go of Jaebeom’s hand so he could hold it. “It’s so smooth and light. What are you supposed to do with it?” He looked underneath the bottom of the octagonal shaped block and pointed to a small indent. “Oh is it meant to have a stand?”

Jaebeom peered underneath it too. “I don’t remember to be honest,” he said as Youngjae poked at the indent causing it to move upwards a little into the block.

“Shit, sorry Jaebeom, I think I broke it,” Youngjae apologised.

“It’s okay, don’t stress too much about it. It’s just a block.” Jaebeom shrugged.

“I’m sure I can fix it, maybe just push it back and, holy shit, it’s glowing!” Youngjae exclaimed. “Jaebeom, why is it glowing?” 

“I have no idea,” Jaebeom replied, just as stumped an Youngjae was.

Youngjae hastily put the block back down onto the chest of drawers before they both stood back, watching as the block suddenly rose into the air and began to rotate quickly

Youngjae grabbed Jaebeom by the arm and pointed. “Um, Jaebeom it’s starting to open. Is it supposed to do that?” 

“Again, I have no idea,” Jaebeom reiterated.

They watched in awe and Youngjae stared intently at it and then suddenly his eyes widened as the object before them opened a little wider. “Holy shit, Jaebeom, I know what this is!l He exclaimed excitedly.

Jaebeom looked even more confused. “Say what now?”

“This, Jaebeom,” he said grinning from ear.

“Is your father’s prototype!”


	64. Chapter 64

Ho Sung followed the path he’d chosen at a comfortable pace. It wouldn’t do any good to try and chase them at full speed. He didn’t want to be wearing himself out in a hurry.

Catching up with, and killing these two was his priority, but he wasn’t willing to compromise himself either, after all there was still only one of him and two of them.

Finally coming to a small clearing, Ho Sung looked straight ahead and then frowned. There in front of him was an extremely high rock face. “DAMNIT!!” He exclaimed, furious at allowing himself to fall for one of the stupidest and oldest tricks in the book.

Instead of turning back he took a left, figuring that if he continued that way he was bound to run into them at some point.

Ho sung assumed that they would think that if he had hit the wall he would have turned back to look for them, but no chance. He knew going back would take to long, and that he probably should have portalled a lot earlier, but he was hoping to catch up,to them since they weren’t all that far ahead and portalling wouldn’t necessarily guarantee his portal opening right in front of them.

It would be smarter for them, since it was obvious, Youngjae couldn’t portal them, to follow the wall on foot, back to the road where it met the gravel driveway up to the house and Ho Sung had no doubt that, that’s the way Jaaebeom would take them.

However Ho Sung believed he’d have the advantage, and it didn’t matter if he was a few feet out of his destination, he was pretty sure it would still get him there ahead of the enemy.

Opening his watch he portalled out

~*~

“Mark says to make sure we let him know the exact moment we need o portal back to them,” Jackson informed Sho Hyuk as the made their way towards the last known location of he other two.

“Put a portal blocker up did they?” Sho Hyuk surmised as they made their way back through the forest.

“Jinyoung got jittery, “ Jackson continued, “and his hunches are usually scarily accurate, so Mark thought it best to do so.”

“Smart move,” Sho Hyuk agreed. “No doubt my brother and Han Seok will try to portal back in. They would have realised by now that that we’ve taken out all but, I think, one or two of their men. They be thinking of ways to play dirtier and harder, but not sure that’s going to help them. Since we now have the upper hand.”

Jackson snorted. “Except they still have guns. Why we can’t use them too, is beyond me.” He sighed.

“Talk to Jaebeom about that, if you’re going to complain. It’s something that the founder put into place when he built up the Guardianship and since Jaebeom’s the founder...” Sho Hyuk smirked. “And besides, our stunners are fine. They have the same range as a regular gun.”

Jackson snorted again. “Why no one ever bothered to change that rule is beyond me.”

“I’m betting he puts it into place because of what happened to Youngjae. It’s not hard to see how much Jaebeom cherishes him. All I did in the end was put him through four years of agony and torture.” This time Sho Hyuk sighed. “Jaebeom was the one to bring him back from the darkness I left him in.”

“About that?” Jackson ventured. “You’ve stopped fighting for him. Are you sure what you think happens, actually happens?”

“Jackson, can you not see it?” Sho Hyuk chuckled a little forlornly.

“See what? That Youngjae hasn’t realised how much he’s in love with Jaebeom yet? Seriously, “ Jackson scoffed. “every but Youngjae himself sees it.”

“I should have denied being the Min Sung of four years ago.” Sho Hyuk berated himself. “It would have been better that way. I’ve confused him completely.”

“While we’re on the subject,” Jackson began, “Are you okay with just letting him go like this?”

“Of course not, but I don’t have choice,” Sho Hyuk sounded terribly defeated. “Youngjae will realise his feelings soon. Very soon.”

Jackson grabbed Sho Hyuk by the arm, stopping them both in their tracks Something happens to Jaebeom, doesn’t it?”

Sho Hyuk remained silent his stone faced expression giving it away.

“Doesn’t it?” Jackson demanded an answer.

Sho Hyuk sighed and it sounded like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “I can’t say, because knowing you, you’d try and stop it from happening to spare Youngjae the anguish, and this needs to happen for everything to move forward in it’s rightful place. You’ll find out soon enough. Just make sure you get him to our medics quick smart, there’s no margins for error allowed here!”

“You’re not leaving much for the imagination here, Sho,” Jackson let his arm go. “How long have we got until this happens?”

Sho checked his watch. “They’re back on the radar, so not long now, maybe 5, 10 minutes, if that. We need to portal again, but not too close. Once we see them send Jaebeom’s coordinates to the medic team and have them standby.”

“Shit Sho,” Jackson didn’t often feel anxious, but when he did, “you’re actually scaring me here. Just how close a call is this?”

“We need to move on,” was all Sho Hyuk was willing to say as he created a portal for them.

Jackson felt it wise not to push any further on the subject as he followed Sho Hyuk through the portal.

Whatever the hell it was, he wasn’t looking forward to it at all.

~*~

As the prototype opened itself up completely, both Youngjae and Jaebeom peered inside, both equally shocked by what they found,

“Um, Jaebeom,” Youngjae’s voice relayed his reaction to what they saw. “it doesn’t have an exit point? just, just,”

“Black matter,” Jaebeom finished Youngjae’s sentence for him. “But why?”

“It’s pretty crappy for prototype, I mean it should have an exit point,” Youngjae mused.

They both peered closer at it. 

"I guess that's why this was the prototype." Jaebeom mused.

“I guess so," Youngjae agreed, "And there’s something sticking out of it too,” Youngjae noted pointing at whatever it was that seemed to catch his attention.”

“It has no exit, yet, there’s something stuck inside it? That’s just weird.” Jaebeom scratched his head,

“You should probably try and pull it out.” Youngjae said backing away a little.

“You’re my Guardian, remember? So I’ll leave that privilege to you,” Jaebeom said grabbing him and pulling him back next to him.

“How about we do it together?” Youngjae bravely suggested.

“I’m a little amused by the fact that we’re both being chased down by a maniac who wants to kill us, but we’re more scared of this, than we are of him.” Jaebeom chuckled lightly.

“We should probably do this now while we have the nerve,” Youngjae suggested.

“I guess we should,” Jaebeom reluctantly agreed. “On the count of three. “Ready?”

Youngjae nodded. “One,”

“Two,” Jaebeom blew out a nervous huff of air.

“Three,” they said together reaching in, their eyes closing as they did so, pulling out the object as quickly as they could, dropping it straight onto the floor, then opening their eyes and staring at the object they’d been so afraid of.

“It’s, an envelope...” Youngjae sounded disappointed. “A boring, large, brown envelope."

“I guess we were both thinking it would be something more sinister than that.” Jaebeom grinned

“Bit of a let down really,” Youngjae bent down and picked it up, handing it to Jaebeom. “It’s quite heavy.”

Jaebeom took it and began to open it slowly.

“What if it’s a bomb?” Youngjae backed away again.

Jaebeom smacked him upside the head with it before Youngjae could get to far out of reach, then looked at it. “I guess it's not a bomb,” he said, his face deadpan straight as he continued to open it.

“Touché.” Youngjae grinned as he rubbed his head. “But since this is your father’s prototype, we probably don’t need to be afraid of it at all, and I wouldn’t be surprised if, that, is everything you need to continue his work.”

He watched as Jaebeom Pulled out the contents and a large smile befell his face as Jaebeom held up a large pile of bound note books,the first one with the words 'Portal Project A51X', written on it. The smile on his face was now just as large as the one on Youngjae’s.

“Well, you’re all set!” Youngjae excitedly clasped his hands together. “Once this is all over you’ll be on your way to creating the best organisation in the world!”

Jaebeom gave him a smug look. “I may be looking forward to this.” He smirked as he packed the note books back into the envelope and then placed them back into the prototype.

Youngjae laughed. “Your more enthusiastic about it now, than you were when you first found out.”

“That’s because this,” he said waving the envelope about, “makes it all the more real, but um, how do I close this?” He asked as he suddenly realised he had no idea how to shut the prototype off.

“Here,” Youngjae said as he bent down, “just press it here on the base." He pointed to a small protruding button down the very bottom of the prototype. “This is why we have the watches now. You’re first portals were similar to your father’s prototype design. Guardians would originally carry the portals with them, hit the button, throw it onto the ground as it opened and then closed it once on the other side via a switch. It was too much effort, too slow and dangerous, especially if you were in a hurry to get out of a serious situation. It wasn't long after that you ended up designing the watches along with another Guardian who also helped you to develop the rest of the technology you created.

Jaebeom gave him an impressed look. “How do you know all this?”

Youngjae grinned. “We learned about the founder in school. We just had no idea it was you, because all they would say was the founder did this, or the founder did that, we never knew his name only some of the very higher ups did, which is why all this shit in your life has happened. Those who hated what you and your father stood for betrayed you and your family, as well as the Guardians, and the System. I just wish the System had picked this up much sooner and maybe all this would have never happened.”

Jaebeom pressed the switch on the portal prototype, watching as it closed in on itself. “You know something, Youngjae. despite what’s happened in my life, for once, I really am truly happy. If it happened all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing, no matter how hard it is.”

“Why?” Youngjae was puzzled, by Jaebeom’s sincerity. Who in their right mind would even consider going through that all over again?

“Because everything, from the day this all started, brought us together, and no matter what happens after this is all over, even if I never get to see you again,” he said picking up the prototype, then smiling softly at Youngjae. “I love you and I won’t ever forget that you were the one that made me smile again. Just never forget me. That’s all I ask.”

Youngjae’s heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t think I could forget you even if I tried, you were the one who helped me know love again. I’m just sorry that things ended up the way they did with Min Sung coming back.”

“It’s fine you were his first. I'll deal. I’m just grateful for what we had.” He handed Youngjae the prototype closing his hand over it. “I’m entrusting you with this until this is over. I think it will be safer with you.”

Youngjae held the prototype tightly in his hand. “I’ll guard it with my life.” He said as he put it into his jacket pocket zipping it up.

“We probably should make our way back. The road is about 5 or so minutes away from here,” Jaebeom informed him shoving the large cumbersome envelope into his jacket and zipping it up too. “If we can make it back there you should have signal again. That's always been the best place for it."

Youngjae swiftly moved forward surprising Jaebeom with a kiss to his cheek, looking a little embarrassed as he pulled away. 

"What was that for?" Jaebeom, chuckled.

"No reason," Youngjae blushed.

Jaebeom smiled and ruffled his hair. “Come on you, let’s get back to the others.”

“Good idea,” Youngjae agreed.

“Although," Jaebeom began suddenly, “there is one thing I seriously will be glad of when this is all over,” he began with a sigh.

“Oh and that is?” Youngjae asked looking at him curiously.

“We'll be out of this damn thermal wear. It's killing my crotch!” he said adjusting his pants as he began to walk off.

Youngjae burst into laughter as the two of them continued back out through the crevice. 

He was glad, that in spite of everything, Jaebeom had seen fit to keep his sense of humour.


	65. Chapter 65

Mark finished setting the portal barrier up and then checked his watch. “I can see Jaebeom and Youngjae on radar again. They must be back in a better signal area.”

Jinyoung nodded. “Yeah but Sho just sent a message saying it’s still not clear enough where they are to get a message through yet and he still can’t get through on the phone.”

“Well hopefully Sho and Jackson will reach them soon.” Mark checked his watch. Radar shows that those two just portalled.”

“Any word from HQ about our back up?” Jinyoung asked. “They said they’d be here by now, but nothing.”

“I got a message from the System administrator,” Mark began. “They tied up all our resources in capturing the rest of the Anti-Guardians and their sub leaders. We have nearly all of their men they had here in custody at the System’s prison hospital. Han Seok, Ho Sung and the other few soldiers her are it, so according to them, we aren’t getting backup now.”

Jinyoung rolled his eyes. “Typical, so what are we getting?”.

“We have medics standing by in case something happens.” Mark shrugged at the look Jinyoung gave him. “I've put protective barrier around the house just in case, so our arses are covered.”

Jinyoung snorted.

Mark checked the barrier to make sure it was in place properly, then sat back down next to Jinyoung and took his hand in his own . “And now, we wait.”

~*~

Sho Hyuk and Jackson exited their portal closer to the road then they thought they would, and they quickly hid back behind the large trees.

Pulling up his watch he showed Jackson two blips on the radar,

The radar showed that Youngjae and Jaebeom weren’t far away from them now.

But he and Jackson remained out of sight.

“Are you sure we can’t stop, this from happening?” Jackson asked.

“Sorry Jackson, but as I said in order for everything to come to fruition, we have stay out of it until it’s time.” Sho Hyuk sighed. “Trust me, I don’t like it any more than you do.”

“So what happens from here?” Jackson asked. “I promise I’ll stay put! I don’t want to suddenly, not, exist.”

“Okay, I can tell you this much, not sure who they run into, but that’s who makes the hit and It happens quickly.” Sho Hyuk sighed, “Are the medics on standby?”

“Yeah, the lead medic has his hand ready on the portal opener.” Jackson informed him. I just have to press this and they’ll be by his side in a second.”

“And, so now all we can do is watch the events unfold.” Sho Hyuk sighed, “Sorry Youngjae,” he whispered to himself.

~*~

Ho Sung smiled as he came out on the road right near where they should hopefully come out from.

“Han Seok you there?” He called out over his watch.

“I don’t care,” he heard Han Seok’s voice come over the other end. “Find another way in then!”

“What the hell's going on over there?” Ho Sung sighed, his annoyance noticeable. 

“Damn bastards have set up a portal blocker as well as a damn barrier around the bloody place. I’ve got the only two men we have left looking for another way in.”

“It doesn’t matter now anyway. I’ve found them, so I’m just biding my time. I’m extremely close to the road. I can see their silhouettes coming out of the forest towards me. I’ll finish this tonight don’t you worry, I’ll at least take one of them out, If not both,” Ho Sung said with a sly smirk.

“Shall we come to you then?” Han Seok asked.

“No I’m sure I can handle it.” Youngjae’s portalling ability is still down. Easy pickings, they they can just bleed to death together.” He grinned.

“Alright then. Good luck!” Han Seok said encouragingly,

“Thanks, see you soon!” Ho Sung hung up the call and waited.

~*~

“I’m pretty sure we lost him, and there’s the road,” Jaebeom said quite happily as he happily pointed towards the road.

“He can still portal, so we need to stay alert.” Youngjae said as he looked around the place cautiously

“Yeah, good point.” Jaebeom had to agree. “The others must be wondering where we are by now. Can you send a message yet.?”

Youngjae opened it up. “What the hell.”

“What’s wrong?” Jaebeom peered over his shoulder.

“Now the whole damn thing is dead. Damn it! I really must have fried it when I made the portal changes for your car.” Youngjae shut the watch again and started checking his pockets.

Jaebeom stood next to him watching as Youngjae frantically searched for something in them. “What are you looking for?”

“My mini tool case,” Youngjae replied as he checked every single pocket. “Ah here we go. I need to fix this keep an eye out for me would you?”

“No problem,” Jaebeom agreed as he kept an eye on their surroundings not knowing three sets of eyes were on them both.

~*~

Jackson peered around their tree. “What the hell is Youngjae doing?”

“Exactly what he needs to be doing.” Sho Hyuk said as he peered out too. “It won’t be much longer now.”

“How can you say that so casually?” Jackson snapped at him.

“How would you like me to say it?” Sho Hyuk said leaning back against the tree.

Jackson pointed over at Jaebeom. “If we fuck this up and he dies, we’ll disappear from this time line.”

“We won’t. Trust me, or in this case trust the medics.” Sho Hyuk said calmly.

“Shit, Sho, this is driving me fucking insane.” Jackson said smacking the tree with his hand.

“I’m really sorry, Jackson,” Sho Hyuk apologised sincerely. “But how do you think I feel right now, knowing that I can’t act until it happens?”

Jackson sighed and lent back against the tree too. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry Sho, that really has to suck.”

“You have no idea just how much.” Sho Hyuk checked his watch again and sighed out the anxiousness he had been holding in for a while now. “Get ready Jackson it’s almost time.”

The pair of them begrudgingly peered around the tree and waited for the inevitable to happen.

~*~

Back in the house Jinyoung shuddered suddenly and Mark looked at him.

“Mark, I feel weird.”

Mark rubbed Jinyoung’s arm and hugged him tightly. “It’ll be alright Jinyoung,” he said reassuringly. “Everything will be fine.”

~*~

“Aren’t you done yet?” Jaebeom asked Youngjae as he continued to fiddle with the watch. “I seriously need to pee.”

“Well go pee then.” Youngjae said as he poked something into the watch.

“Fine, I will then,” Jaebeom chuckled disappearing behind the tree right next to them. “I’ll go behind this tree.”

“I don’t need you to be sharing that thanks.” Youngjae playfully chastised.

“What are you complaining about? You've seen me naked.” Jaebeom retorted

“I almost have this done you’d better pee fast.”

“I’m done already you impatient brat.” Jaebeom laughed as he zipped himself up and came out from behind the tree looking up as he did so.

 

“YOUNGJAE! LOOK OUT!”

Youngjae dropped his tools in fright and looked up to see Jaebeom in front of him arms outstretched as someone a little further in front of them turned and ran, taking off as someone else rushed out of the forest, following them, yelling.

As Jaebeom slumped against him, Youngjae hurriedly turned him around in his his arms and saw, blood pooling out from a wound close to his heart and he quickly went to the ground with him. 

“No! No, no, no, no, no!! Jaebeom!! Jaebeom!!” He urgently called out to him, watching his eyes slowly close. 

“Don’t you dare Im Jaebeom! Don’t you dare fucking die on me!”


	66. Chapter 66

Youngjae placed his forehead gently over Jaebeom’s. The tears beginning to form.

Jaebeom was still breathing, but it was shallow. “Come on Jaebeom,” he gently tapped his face. “Stay with me please,” Youngjae begged, holding onto him for dear life.

“Don’t die, not like this,” he whispered softly, his face close to Jaebeom's. “I don't care if the Guardians never exist, just, please, I need you to exist! You can’t come into my life, steal my heart, then fucking die you asshole.”

Jackson ran over with the intention of trying to help. 

“Don’t touch him!” Youngjae snapped, pushing him away.

Jackson backed off, looking down at the blood Youngjae had smeared onto him and it broke his heart, but seconds later he was distracted by a noise from behind and sighed with relief. “Youngjae, the medics are here,” he broached the subject gently.

Youngjae felt a gentle tap on his shoulder and looked up. 

As they began to take charge, Youngjae handed Jaebeom over. “You have to save him, please!” He begged, holding one of the medic's by the arm.

The medic momentarily placed his hand over Youngjae's in understanding before helping the others. 

Youngjae moved away, wiping his face with his sleeve and as he stared down at Jaebeom's very pale face, he watched the medics gently lifted him onto the stretcher.

Just before they placed an oxygen mask over his face, Youngjae kissed him softly. “You have to come back to me, you hear me Im Jaebeom?” He whispered in Jaebeom's ear. “I need you by my side.”

“Get him to the life support chamber. Save him, there's no room for failure!” Jackson ordered as the medics ran back through the portal with Jaebeom.

Slowly Youngjae turned back around, holding his hand directly out at Jackson. “Give me your other watch.

Jackson shivered as he saw the murderous look on the young Guardian's face. “Youngjae, don't do this!” 

“Give me the watch, Jackson.” Youngjae’s voice was calm, a little too calm for Jackson’s liking.

“Youngjae I...”

Youngjae glared at him. “Don't make me take it by force!”

Jackson reached into his pocket and gave it to him and watching him put the watch on, Jackson gently spoke again. “You should go with Jaebeom. Sho and I, we can handle things here.”

Youngjae walked past Jackson, as he stared at Jaebeom’s blood, still wet, warm and fresh on his hands and clothes, the smell filling his nostrils and his rage unnaturally quiet. 

He clenched his bloodied hands and then he portalled out.

“Goddamn son of a..." Jackson sighed and quickly called Sho Hyuk. “Sho, you there?”

“What is it? I’m kinda busy trying to keep up with this asshole.” Sho’s voice came through.

“Youngjae’s gone and he’s out for blood. Took my other watch and left. If he catches up to Ho Sung...!” 

“Shit! Message Mark and our men, get them looking for Han Seok and the rest of Ho Sung’s lackeys. Are you heading back to Jaebeom?”

“No, Jaebeom’s in good hands, and Youngjae needs to be stopped."

"Good point, no telling what he'll do in the frame of mind he'll be in. Plus we owe it to Jaebeom to finish this once and for all,” Sho began, “Let’s take these assholes down.”

And Jackson was gone.

~*~

Ho Sung portalled straight back to Han Seok. “We need to get back to the future now! I got him! I was aiming for Youngjae he was standing right in the open, but Jaebeom ran right into the firing line to protect him.”

“Did you kill him?” Han Seok asked.

“Pretty sure he’s not going to make it. I was aiming for the heart when Youngjae was standing there, Jaebeom took the shot instead,” Ho Sung said looking around. “Call the other two back. I want to be out of here as soon as possible. No telling when Min Sung and the others will turn up. Min Sung was right on my heels. He almost had me. My hands were shaking from all the adrenaline, took me a couple of seconds to get it together.”

“I can’t get a hold of our men!” Han Seok checked his watch. “That’s odd, it shows one of them already heading back, but no sign of the other one.”

“There must be more of them, because Jackson was with Min Sung. He ran out from the trees with him.” Ho Sung looked around again. Nothing we can do if one of them got taken. Self preservation, it’s every man for himself.”

“We can’t go back to any of our bases either, one of our men went back earlier they’ve been destroyed and I just tried to go back there and we’ve been blocked out, we weren’t before. The System must have taken them over. All of them.”

“Oh? Running off were you?” Ho Sung said with a snort.

Han Seok shrugged. “To be honest the thought had crossed my mind, but no. I got fed up of hanging around here while everyone else was having, fun. I wanted to see if we could salvage anything at all, but I can’t get in.”

“Won’t matter anyway.” Ho Sung began. “Jaebeom should be dead very soon and the time line will change. So I suppose I should say, It’s been nice knowing you.”

“Wonder what line of work I’ll be in, since none of this would have ever happened?” Han Seok asked himself.

“Who knows and who cares, we’ll be able to relax and not have to worry about things like this any more.” Ho Sung said happily.

Speaking of not having to worry, “ Han Seok snorted impatiently where is that man of ours and why the hell hasn’t he portalled in yet?”

“Speak of the devil,” Ho Sung pointed as one opened quite close to them.

Han Seok whirled around. “About bloody time you got...”

He stopped speaking and they both watched as their man dropped to the ground, unconscious as he was pushed out of the portal.

A bloody hand quickly reached out for Ho Sung, but Ho Sung caught on and pushed Han Seok into Youngjae as he came out of the portal and he was off.

A struggle ensued and Han Seok reached for his gun, but Youngjae grabbed his hand and twisted, until the gun flew out of his hand. Han Seok screamed in pain, the sharp sound of his wrist bones breaking as he did so, and then Youngjae shoved him to the ground.

Han Seok groaned in pain as he lay on the ground nursing his broken wrist. “You can’t win this you bastard,” Han Seok Screamed at him. “He’ll die and then all of this, everything you will have done to protect he and his legacy will have been in vain.”

Youngjae walked over to the gun readying the trigger and then pointing it at Han Seok,

Han Seok stared him down and waited for the end, but to his surprise Youngjae t quickly moved the gun away from him, shooting the sand a foot away, making him flinch.

Han Seok watched as Youngjae, stoned faced and unemotional knelt down next to him, grabbed his face in his free hand and squeezed it hard.

“Youngjae gave him sarcastic snort, saying nothing, let his face go, then hit him hard with the butt of the gun, knocking him out cold.

Making sure the gun was in safe mode Youngjae took out his stun gun and threw it to the side, replacing it in the holster with Han Seok’s.

And then he portalled out.

~*~

Jackson followed Youngjae and portalled into where he was on his radar, but by the time he got there all he found were two unconscious men. 

To the left was Youngjae's stun gun and Jackson sighed. He called Mark and Jinyoung, who portalled over as soon as they had returned the other Anti-Guardian soldier back to their holding cells, bringing four medics and stretchers back as requested.

He was just picking up Youngjae’s stun gun up when they arrived.

“Shit, their wrists! That looks nasty." Mark noted as he saw the state of the two men in front of them. "What the hell happened?” Mark asked as they came through at the feet of an unconscious Han Seok.

They watched as the medics placed the two men on the stretchers and headed through a portal.

“Youngjae happened.” Jackson sighed. "He's, how should I put this, gone rogue, we need to stop him from reaching Ho Sung before we do. I'm chasing him, but keep arriving seconds too late. He may not have killed these two, but if he reaches Ho Sung first, he's as good as dead."

Mark and Jinyoung exchanged glances.

“What the hell would make him snap bad enough to start hurting people, to that extent?” Mark inquired curiously.

Jackson sighed. “Ho Sung caught up to them, took a shot at Youngjae, but Jaebeom threw himself in front of him. It was a calculated shot too, Ho Sung was aiming for the heart.”

“We’re still in this timeline, that means they’ve managed to stabilise him, if he were dead, who knows where we’d be.” Mark replied a little relieved that they could still follow this through. "What's ironic is that right before all this started Jinyoung felt a little off. He knew something was going to happen. I just wish his sixth sense could give us more insight, so that we could have known what was going down beforehand.”

Jackson shook his head. “None of that matters now. Anything could happen, Jaebeom could still die on us at any second. I’m pretty sure it was a direct hit, there was a lot of bleeding going on. Right now we need to concentrate on catching up to Youngjae. I’ve warned Sho that he’s got a gun and one of their watches, which, of course, is how he's tracking Han Seok.”

“Shouldn’t someone be back at your HQ to monitor Jaebeom's progress, just in case we need to prepare for the worst?” Jinyoung questioned.

Jackson put Youngjae’s stun gun into his holster on the other side of waist. “We asked Bambam to send Yugyeom back. I got a message right before you got here saying he was on his way to HQ hospital.”

“Then we should probably finish this ASAP and get back there too,” Mark suggested.

“Do what you can,and who ever gets to Youngjae first, stop him!” Jackson sighed, he was extremely worried about what an unnaturally calm Youngjae might actually do when he finally got hold of Ho Sung. “Right now, the two of them are portalling around like crazy. Ho Sung would have realised that Youngjae’s out for blood.”

Mark sighed. “Come on Jinyoung, we’d better move out.”

Jinyoung nodded and the two of them portalled out.

Jackson sighed and followed after them.

They had to stop Youngjae, before it was too late.


	67. Chapter 67

Jackson caught up with Sho Hyuk as they continued their cat and mouse game of chasing Ho Sung and Youngjae.

The were racing against time now as Youngjae kept close to Ho Sung, and each time they portalled, Youngjae seemed to be inching closer to him.

Mark and Jinyoung regrouped after a short while, as they too kept missing Youngjae by mere seconds. 

“Mark, we’re missing him by almost the same amount of time as Jackson was. At this rate, Ho Sung is as good as dead. You heard what Jackson said.”

Mark sighed. “I know, I know. We need to find a way to stop Youngjae, but without hurting him. My only concern is, how do we stop him without getting in the the way of their fight and getting hurt ourselves. If Youngjae’s blinded by rage right now, he could lash out before he realised it was his own team.”

Jinyoung thought for a moment. “What if we could get ahead of them, stop Youngjae right before he makes the biggest mistake of his life?”

“That would be good.” Mark looked at his watch. “But how? We don’t know where they’ll come out. It could be any where.” 

Jinyoung gave Mark a sly grin and held up an Anti-Guardian’s watch. “So I’ve been monitoring the path Ho Sung is taking.”

Mark gave him a proud look. “You little sneak. When did you get that?”

“Tch, Tch, Tch. You mean you didn’t think to grab one when we were back at the house?” Jinyoung shook his head. “You had ample opportunity.” He pulled another one out of his pocket and held it out to Mark,

“That aside, Park Jinyoung,” Mark said waggling his finger at him, then taking the watch. ”It would have been handy to have known this information earlier. Obviously you have something running around in that complex mind of yours.so come on out with it.”

“I discovered that these watches record the portal history. Of course they’re not Ho Sung’s, but I was able to recalibrate both of these so they would actually sync with any other Anti-Guardian watches in the area, and of course there’s only four of these watches in the past right now. The ones we have, the one Youngjae has, and of course Ho Sung’s.” Jinyoung paused waiting for Mark’s response.

“Okay, so, how does this help us to get ahead of them?” Mark asked, intrigued.

“I’ve been calculating Ho Sung’s trajectory with the information my watch has pulled from his and Youngjae’s watches. Ho Sung isn’t just portalling off handedly, he has a destination in mind.” Jinyoung informed Mark of his discovery.”

Mark threw him a puzzled look as he stared at the watch in his hand. “How can you tell?” 

“Well if you stop looking at the bloody thing and actually turn it on,” Jinyoung snorted.

“You’re cute when you’re grumpy,” Mark chuckled.

“Just get on with it you flirt,” Jinyoung ordered with a slight tinge of red over his face as he watched Mark place the Anti-Guardian watch on his free wrist and switch it on.”

“Okay, so what am I looking for exactly?” Mark inquired as the watch came on line.

“Okay, so if you press this here, and then do this,” Jinyoung began showing Mark what he needed to do.

“Oh, I see it! I can see the pattern of his movements; Of their movements.” Mark said excitedly,

“And?” Jinyoung asked urging him to continue.

“And by the looks of it, “Mark’s face lit up as he looked over at Jinyoung. “Ho Sung’s heading back toward the house. The barriers down so he can just portal in, but why hasn’t he gone straight there?”

“Not sure,” Jinyoung shrugged. “Maybe trying to throw us off his trail, but he didn’t plan on someone as smart as me coming into the equation.”

“You smug bastard,” Mark chuckled affectionately. “So do we let Sho and Jackson know?”

“Better do it fast if we’re going to stop Youngjae from killing Ho Sung, or vice versa.”

“Wait just one more thing.” Mark stopped Jinyoung from portalling. 

“Mm?”

“What if Youngjae catches him, before, they reach the house?” 

“Then we portal our backsides there as fast as possible. if Jaebeom survives, this timeline survives, and if Youngjae kills Ho Sung, we all know what happens then right?” Jinyoung reminded him.

“Yeah,” Mark said with a sigh. “And we don’t want that, or we’ll still be screwed.”

~*~ 

Ho Sung portalled into the middle of the clearing between the burnt out car and the house. He knew he only had two choices, he could keep running, or, he could stop and face Youngjae.

The only bad thing about portalling, was that you couldn’t stay inside the rift between the future and the past for too long. If you took too long to come back out of the portal, the rift would begin to close in around you and that would be a bad thing.

A very, very bad thing. 

The other thing was that if he continued running, the watch would eventually over heat, then explode from constant over use and that wasn’t a good thing either. It had already begun to get hot, but if his was then Youngjae’s would be too.

Making a decision, Ho Sung took his watch off and threw it. If he had to go down fighting, he’d take their star Guardian with him.

Seconds later said Guardian’s portal appeared.

This was it.

The showdown had arrived.

Ho Sung held his gun out as Youngjae came through the portal, gun outstretched in his hand also.

Youngjae’s face was blank and unemotional and he just stared, deep into Ho Sung’s eye’s, scaring him enough to make him take a few steps backwards.

“Come any closer and I’ll put a bullet In you too,” Ho Sung sounded desperate now. 

Youngjae stopped in his tracks for a moment, taking note of Ho Sung’s words, then he just kept walking.

“I’m warning you stay back.” 

Youngjae ignored him.

“Last warning Guardian!” 

Youngjae kept walking.

Ho Sung pulled the trigger.

Youngjae’s mouth curled up at the side in a snide smile.

Ho Sung looked at his gun in horror, he was out of ammunition and Youngjae knew it. He must have kept count of how many shots he’d used in the forrest including the one that Jaebeom took to the chest.

Throwing the gun at Youngjae, Ho Sung took a chance and as Youngjae ducked the gun hurtling towards his head, he seized the opportunity and charged at Youngjae knocking him down, the gun flying out of Youngjae’s hand, landing a few feet away out of the reach of them both.

Youngjae took a punch to the gut as Ho Sung kept him pinned to the ground. Youngjae fought back, bringing his leg up and flipping Ho Sung over and off him, he scrambled to get to his feet, going after the gun. 

Ho Sung foiled his plan, grabbing Youngjae by his ankles, pulling him back down onto the sandy floor, then crawling over him as they punched and kicked at each other, both fighting to retake the gun.

As Ho Sung reached across Youngjae’s head to retrieve it, Youngjae turned his face and bit his arm.

Ho Sung cried out through gritted teeth and lashing out at Youngjae, knocked the gun even further away from the two of them.

Youngjae managed to get upright, but Ho Sung was right behind him. He tackled him back down to the floor, punching him in the face as soon as he hit the floor.

Blood ran from Youngjae’s nose, but he said nothing, his eyes were focused as he fought back, attempting to regain the upper hand as Ho Sung went to stand up so he could punch him from up high. 

Youngjae saw his chance and grabbed Ho Sung’s balls through his pants. Ho Sung cried out in agony as Youngjae twisted and then squeezed as hard as he could, before shoving him over and kicking him right where he had squeezed, then smashed his foot down onto Ho Sung’s ankle.

A popping noise came from Ho Sung’s foot and he cried out again. 

Youngjae was pretty sure he’d dislocated it and he glared back at him, wiped the blood off his face and walked towards the gun.

Ho Sung lay curled up on the sandy floor, tears in his eyes from all the pain.

And then Youngjae was there standing above him with the gun pointed at his head.

Youngjae primed the trigger and took aim.

Ho Sung cowered under his arm.

“YOUNGJAE, STOP!” Mark Yelled as he and Jinyoung portalled in, right in front of them. 

“Please, Youngjae, we’ve won. You can stop now,” Jinyoung tried to reason with him. 

No response, just a dark sullen silence, except for the pained groans of Ho Sung.

“Guardian 49301,” Sho Hyuk’s authoritive voice began from behind them. “By the authority I, System Commander, Kim Sho Hyuk hold, and in the name of the System, I order you to stand down!” 

Youngjae stood still unresponsive, gun still poised out in front of him.

“If you kill him now, you end up being the bad guy!” Jackson warned him. 

“If you kill him, Youngjae,” Sho Hyuk continued. “You’ll be thrown out into the badlands, and then everything we’ve done to help Jaebeom be free of his chains will have been in vain.” Sho Hyuk paused and then sighed loudly as Youngjae still unmoving, kept his silence and his stance.

Sho Hyuk had one last card left to play if this didn’t work, then that was it. “Okay, fine, go ahead and kill him then, but we might as well tell the medics to go ahead and let Jaebeom die, because there’s no point in our saving him. And if you end up there, our future still ends here.”

Youngjae sighed deeply as if contemplating. 

“What would Jaebeom want you to do, Youngjae?” Sho asked gently as he slowly walked up to him, nodding to Mark to start moving towards him. 

Youngjae stood there unmoving for a few more seconds and then depriming the gun, he held it out to Mark, who was now by his side.

Mark took it from him and gave him a gentle rub on the arm. “You did the right thing, Youngjae. Jaebeom would be proud of you.”

“Go to him, Youngjae,” Sho Hyuk smiled a little sadly. “He needs you. We’ll finish up here.”

And in a flash Youngjae was gone.


	68. Chapter 68

Youngjae arrived back at the Guardianship HQ and headed straight for the Med Centre.

When he got there it was pure chaos. 

Medics were running around tending to those injured Anti-Guardians that they had brought in from both here in the future, and from the past, as well as their own Guardians injured in the Anti-Guardian cleanup.

Youngjae noted that the Elite Special Ops from the System were guarding the cubicles of the Anti-Guardians, to make sure they didn’t escape no doubt, not that it mattered, because most of them in there weren’t in any shape to even move and they were cuffed to their beds.

They must have had one hell of a fight here too, judging by some of the injuries sustained on both sides.

Taking a deep breath in Youngjae walked up to one of the Elite Special Ops officials guarding the entrance of where he needed to get through to and he held his ID card out. “I need to see the patient they brought in from the past.”

The Official looked him up and down, noting the state that Youngjae was in. “I’m sorry, no soldiers allowed, only System and Guardian commanders, higher authorities and those with special clearance can enter this area.”

“I'm not one of your fucking soldiers and I don’t give a fucking shit, about clearance!” Youngjae snapped pushing past him and heading into the restricted area. “I’m his personal Guardian and I have a right to see him!”

The official grabbed him and pulled him back. “I don’t care if you’re his personal teddy bear, you don’t have clearance to enter this zone!”

Youngjae grabbed the official by his collar and pulled him in to meet him face to face. “If you don’t let me through,” he snarled. “I will tear this fucking place apart and then you can explain to the System Commander, Kim Sho Hyuk, why.”

The official pulled free of Youngjae’s grip and shoved a pass at him. “You should have opened your mouth and said you were from his team up front, instead of coming in here like an asshole and expecting special treatment. They all have special clearance.”

“And if you were doing your job properly, you would have known I was on his team!” Youngjae snorted as he snatched the pass and stormed off.

Youngjae ran down one corridor, then turned right. He ran down a set of stairs and turned to his left, then ran down another corridor until he came to a large set of metal doors and next to it was a panel with a scanner built into it.

Youngjae placed the pass on the surface, there was a loud click and the doors slowly began to slide open. Not waiting for them to open completely, Youngjae turned himself sideways and went through them, running off down another corridor and turning right. He stopped and looked around, then walked up to small room to his left and knocked on the door.

A tall man answered the door and Youngjae bowed.

“Sho Hyuk said you were on your way here. The Founder is this way.” The tall man led him past three other rooms before finally stopping at the end one. “We managed to stop the bleeding and get him stabilised. It wasn’t looking good for a while, but he was very lucky. The bullet missed his heart, just, thanks to this,” he picked up a blood covered folder.

Youngjae sighed, his relief great. It seemed that Jaebeom’s father’s notebooks had been a blessing in disguise.

“Jackson said there was no room for failure. So I wasn’t going to let the man down. We all know what would have happened if the Founder had died. Speaking of which, he’s heavily sedated, but has been in and out of consciousness. I’m gathering you two are close, he was calling for you in his sleep.”

“Yeah, you could say that.” Youngjae said with a small smile.

“Well, if you’re ready, you can go in. Just make sure you don’t disturb him. He needs to have complete calm and quiet,” The doctor said quite firmly.

“Yes, sir, I understand. I just want to be by his side that’s all, it’s my life he saved, so I owe him that much at least.” Youngjae said as the Doctor placed his authorisation pass onto the scanner.”

The door clicked open and Youngjae taking a deep breath walked into the room.

Youngjae walked up to where Jaebeom lay in the healing dome, his half naked body was being kept warm by the even flow of temperature in the dome. There was a vast amount of healing gel situated on the repaired wound area and all around it and an oxygen ventilator over his nose and mouth

Youngjae looked at his stats on the dome’s report section and sighed. He was so thankful Jaebeom had survived, not because the guardians would have disappeared, but because Jaebeom would have disappeared from his life.

The relief he felt was great, but he would be more relieved once Jaebeom was back on his feet.

Youngjae placed his hands over the dome above Jaebeom’s head, then rested his own head above. Looking down at him Youngjae relived the moment that Jaebeom selflessly stepped in front of him and he burst into tears.

Youngjae hadn’t realised until that moment in time that Jaebeom obviously loved him enough to want to sacrifice himself and the Guardianship to save him.

Youngjae also realised he would be apologising to Min Sung later.

For falling in love with someone else.

But it couldn’t be helped, Youngjae knew he was madly in love with Jaebeom, despite the fact they were living centuries apart.

He was shocked though, because the man who would bring about the healing of the world in the future had chosen to save his life over everything else.

And how could you not love someone like that?

Youngjae looked up for a moment looking for a chair. Instead he found saw a fold out bed and a wash basin set up in the corner, with a towel and fresh set of comfortable clothes on the edge of the bed.

Wiping his tears from his exhausted face, Youngjae dragged the bed over closer to the dome and walked back over to the wash basin. Stripping out of his bloodied clothes, Youngjae cleaned himself up as best he could and then grabbed the T-shirt and pants from the bed putting them on, then making sure he was facing Jaebeom, crawled into the bed pulling the sheet up over him.

It wasn’t long before his weary eyes closed and he drifted off into a very much needed sleep.

~*~

Ho Sung lay on a bed in a secure cubicle. His arms were chained to the side of it as he was tended to.

The door opened, Jackson and Sho Hyuk walking in together.

“Oh look the traitor and his sidekick,” Ho Sung snorted as Sho Hyuk walked up to him.

“Why?” Was all Sho Hyuk said.

“You know why. Don’t pretend you don’t.” Ho Sung snapped.

“No, I don’t. Once you wanted to help save the world, but then you decided to try and help end it. You once idolised the ideals of the Founder, wanted to meet him, shake his hand, tell him how much you admired him, but instead you joined the Anti-Guardians and went out of your way to try and kill him. Of course I don’t understand.”

Ho Sung rolled his eyes. “The ways of the Guardian are wrong. You interfere in the nature of things.”

Sho Hyuk sighed. “We stopped many important people from being killed because of what they were supposed to achieve in the future. Jaebeom's parents and Grandparents, they weren't supposed to die. Han Seok and his Anti-Guardian regime felt the world should just end and be done with it, that it couldn't be saved. He wanted Jaebeom's lineage out of the way, to prove his point real, and that nothing could be done. He'd lost all of his family in the last war, and he was bitter. He hated the fact the world could be saved, but his family couldn't.”

“But you know how people live in this future.” Ho Sung sighed. “You've seen the devastation in some of those areas, between the inner and outer wall, even before you get to the badlands.”

“Without others carrying on Jaebeom's work there would be no safe haven for anyone! It's Jaebeom who discovers a way to keep life thriving. The System has carried on his work faithfully. They were about to release a statement on how they had just finalised the new plans for the construction of a new settlement for those between the walls, complete with clean water, as well as new information in regards to new plant growth being found within the city limits as a result of an experiment they trialled right before all this shit happened. But they withheld it because of the continuous uprising of the Anti-Guardians. You might not believe it, but everything Jaebeom did was to keep our future safe. It’s why he created the System and the Guardianship.”

“The Guardianship killed our father Min Sung!” Ho Sung snarled. “He was handed unchecked equipment before the mission, his watch was faulty, he never stood a chance! How was that keeping our future safe?”

“Let me tell you a little something I found out in the last four years, Ho Sung. Our father's watch was fine before Han Seok tampered with it. He put a timed invisibility inhibitor into it so that once he became visible, he couldn't become invisible again for at least 20 minutes ” Sho Hyuk said, a scowl on his face.

“What? Why the hell would he do that?” Ho Sung looked puzzled.

“Because our father was getting too close to the truth about the Guardian weaponry and portal parts that were going missing. He was investigating the issue for the System. Han Seok and one of the head Guardian authorities were involved heavily in the theft, stealing parts for the Anti-Guardian's, creating their version of our portals and weapons.”

“What's your point?” Ho Sung snarled.

Sho Hyuk clenched his fists and continued. “Our father had found out about the other person’s involvement in the theft of the parts and went straight to Han Seok with the information. He had no idea that Han Seok was a part of it all. Han Seok knew if our father found out the truth, that he would be out of his position and into the badlands, then going back in time to kill Jaebeom would be impossible!” 

“Go on,” Ho Sung sighed. “I'm listening.”

Sho Hyuk continued. “Han Seok told him that he needed him to go on a ‘simple mission’, that he needed him to protect a young Im Jaebeom in the past. This was less than an hour after our father went to him with the information about the stolen parts.” 

Sho Hyuk looked over at Jackson who nodded encouraging him to continue.

“With in two days of being there, Han Seok told our father that he needed some important information from Jaebeom's parents place. Told him exactly where it would be and that no one would be there. He set him up so that it all played out like a simple mission that turned sour, because a Guardian allowed himself to be seen.”

Sho Hyuk folded his arms and looked his brother in the eyes. 

Eyes that were now full of shock and disbelief.

“Han Seok sent the agent that killed him, he had it all planned out. Our father never stood a chance. Han Seok played him, just like he did you, Ho Sung. He was the reason our father died, not the Guardians. And if you think I’m lying I’ll happily go and get Han Seok’s personal hidden files we discovered, for you to peruse.”

Ho Sung seethed with anger. “That son of a fucking bitch! He told me that the The Guardians killed our father. That the Founders work would be our downfall. That Guardians interfering in the past was what was causing the imbalance within the world. That the Eco system failing was the least of our worries.”

“The imbalance was happening because the the Anti-Guardians were trying to kill the people who were needed for ground work in the future. Like Jaebeom's father. Luckily his hidden work has been found and now Jaebeom can continue, and of course the Eco system failing was the least of our worries, those that have carried on Jaebeom's work for it's improvement saw to that.”

“I never thought about any of that! I was so blind to Han Seok's cause, I just believed every word. I guess I was just as bitter about our father's death as he was his family's.” Ho Sung realised.

“The future, It may not be the prettiest of places right now, but, because of the legacy Jaebeom left us, we've survived, because of his legacy, new things are about to happen, good things. You should have been thanking him for that, not trying to kill him!”

Ho Sung looked away, ashamed of being fooled so easily.

“I always dreamt of us heading further into the future together, but now, I’ll be on this side of the city and you’ll be spending your future past the outer gates, in the badlands, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it from happening.” Sho Hyuk sighed.

“Everything I ever wanted for us, for you and I as a family Ho Sung, is gone.” Sho Hyuk turned back, facing towards the door. “Once you’re healed you’ll be held in prison until your trial. Once convicted, you’ll be sent straight to the badlands. I won’t get to see you again. Not even to say goodbye.”

Ho Sung sighed and closed his eyes. “So that’s the real reason you’re here.” He gave a light sarcastic chuckle. “You always were a soft touch!”

“You’re my brother and as much as I hate what you’ve done, I wanted you to know that I love you. I blame myself, because I wasn’t able to help you realise what Han Seok was truly like. I let him use you like he used our father, all because I couldn't figure all this out sooner. And now it's too late.”

“What's done is done, Min Sung. It's not your fault. I made wrong choices, now I have to pay the price.” Ho Sung sighed. “You should go,”

Sho Hyuk gave him a sad look and Ho Sung turned away. “Go, get out of this miserable place and go live your life. Live it well. Live it well for both of us.” 

Sho Hyuk bit his lip and began to walk away. “Goodbye Ho Sung! I'm sorry!”

Jackson waited for Sho Hyuk to walk past before giving Ho Sung one final unseen glance, then followed Sho Hyuk out, the door sliding closed and locking behind them.

Once out of the room and a little further down the way Sho Hyuk stopped to lean on the wall, and he sighed his head tilting backwards a little.

Jackson stopped and looked over at him. “Stupid question I know, but are you okay?”

Show Hyuk gave a deep sigh outwards and looked back at him. “Not really. It’s not a great feeling losing your lover and your brother simultaneously.”

“I guess it wouldn’t feel too great, and I know,this doesn’t help much, but I really am sorry,” Jackson said sincerely. “And to be honest, I always hoped I’d have a chance with Youngjae after you were gone, but up until he met Jaebeom, you were all he ever thought of.”

Sho Hyuk smiled a little. “Thanks Jackson, but it’s okay, it’s meant to be this way. I was dead to him for four years, I was stupid to think everything could be the same once he saw me. He’s moved on, it just took Jaebeom’s life to be on the line for him to realise it wasn’t me he needed anymore.”

Jackson rested a hand over his shoulder. “You’ll find someone else, you’re a great guy!”

Sho Hyuk chuckled and then moved away from the wall, placing his arm around Jackson’s shoulders. “It seems you’ve made a dent in my misery, Jackson Wang! Shall we go do the debriefing?”

Might be a good idea, since I’ve already sent the message out to all able bodied Guardians.” Jackson agreed, smiling, as they headed back towards the debriefing room.

“After this though, I want to go see Jaebeom. I would have liked to have seen him when we got back but, I just wanted to let Youngjae have time with him first.” Sho Hyuk told Jackson as they rounded the corner and walked into the first room on their right.

“I’ll come with you. I wouldn’t mind checking in on him myself.” Jackson looked around the room. It was full, including some of the injured Guardians that had already been seen to. “Looks like we have a full house.”

Sho Hyuk seemed impressed. “Okay then,” he began with a solemn look.

“Let’s get this over and done with!”


End file.
